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Jan 5, 2009 6:24 am US/Central
Texas House Speaker Craddick Throws In The Towel
AUSTIN (AP) ―
Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, the longest serving Republican in state elective office, has given up his hard-fought bid for a fourth term.
Craddick aides and allies said the Midland oilman, the first Republican to lead the House since the Civil War era, told his supporters that he did not have enough votes among his fellow members to remain in the powerful job.
"I talked to the speaker. He has dropped his candidacy and released his pledges," Rep. Will Hartnett, a longtime Craddick supporter, said Sunday. "He just decided it was getting too tight."
Craddick had been campaigning for another term as the presiding officer over the 150-member chamber, but his dwindling support became insurmountable as Rep. Joe Straus, a relative newcomer to the political arena, gained strength.
Shortly before word of Craddick's surrender spread, Straus, R-San Antonio, released a list of 85 pledges of support, more than enough to win the election on Jan. 13.
"It is time for a new tone and an atmosphere of trust in the Texas House of Representatives," Straus said, upon announcing that he had secured enough support to win the race. "Having received the commitment of a strong majority of my colleagues, it is my goal to restore civility, fairness and transparency to the House of Representatives and its public-policy making process."
Republicans hold a 76-74 majority in the House. The narrow partisan split and divided GOP loyalties mean House Democrats will play a decisive role. All but four House Democrats endorsed Straus.
Most Republicans threw their support behind veteran Amarillo Republican Rep. John Smithee, who entered the race Sunday.
"We're going to need a little bit of help from a higher power and that's where we're looking," Smithee said after members of the Republican caucus meeting Sunday night voted to support him.
Hartnett, who said he would be supporting Smithee, said Straus is inexperienced and "virtually unknown in the House."
"Smithee is known -- he's known, trusted and respected and I think everyone in the House would feel comfortable with him as speaker," said Hartnett, R-Dallas. "Obviously, it's a horserace right now but Smithee is very popular."
Craddick's allies said he also endorsed Smithee.
Hartnett told reporters he thought Craddick would return to the chamber as a rank-and-file member and serve out his two-year term.
At a downtown Austin steakhouse, where Craddick addressed the House Republican caucus, Craddick rushed through a throng of reporters to get into the restaurant.
Republican Rep. Leo Berman, of Tyler, said the caucus members were not deterred by Straus' hefty list of supporters. He said they would start calling them to bring them to their side. Berman said he wasn't worried that they were already pledged to Straus because he said they had previously been pledged to Craddick.
He said Straus didn't stand for Republican values.
Craddick has been a lightning rod of controversy in Austin. He famously faced down a rebellion at the end of the 2007 session after replacing his rules advisers and claiming "absolute" authority to brush aside challenges to his rule.
When first elected in 1968, Craddick became one of only eight Republicans in the 150-member chamber. The longest-serving member of the Legislature, Craddick's adept fundraising skills helped the Republicans win an 88-62 majority in the House in 2003. It was the first time the GOP led the chamber in more than 130 years. His grateful colleagues promptly chose Craddick, an oilfield mud salesman, to be their leader -- and Texas' first Republican speaker since 1871.
Since the GOP glory days of 2003, the party's majority has shriveled to the narrow 76-74 lead.
In his first term, Craddick quickly pushed through a conservative agenda of congressional redistricting and lawsuit limitations.
"Speaker Tom Craddick has served with distinction in the Texas House for four decades," Straus said. "I have great respect for him personally, and honor his service to the state."
Craddick's tenure has been marked by complaints from Republicans and Democrats that he rules the chamber like a dictator and forces lawmakers to bend to his will.
Straus served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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