Straus Claims He Has Votes To Unseat Craddick

By JAY ROOT, Associated Press Writer

AUSTIN (AP) – One of the most powerful jobs in state government was hanging in the balance Saturday, when both House Speaker Tom Craddick and his new rival claimed they were winning the race to lead the Texas House of Representatives.

Rep. Joe Straus of San Antonio, a relative newcomer to the Texas Legislature, declared in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Saturday night that he had amassed 76 votes – half of the 150-member chamber plus one.

The vote officially takes place on Jan. 13, opening day of the next legislative session. But the political jockeying has turned into a full sprint over the last two days.

“I am confident of 76 firm votes and am awaiting the receipt of pledge cards before formally announcing the members’ commitments,” Straus said in a written statement. “And I fully expect to receive an additional double digit number of pledges on top of the 76 very shortly.”

About three hours earlier, Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee had said the speaker was well on his way to a fourth term as speaker.

“We have grown stronger in the last 24 hours,” DeLee said. “The size of the field has narrowed, and the speaker has picked up momentum and is in a great position.”

Craddick has said repeatedly he is confident he will be re-elected and plans to meet with supporters Sunday afternoon, although the Straus camp has signaled the San Antonio lawmaker could lay out the names of his supporters before then.

Straus emerged as the unanimous but surprise choice of the so-called ABC coalition – Anybody But Craddick – after a closed-door meeting Friday night. But the wealthy businessman only had 11 publicly declared Republican votes.

Republicans hold a 76-74 majority in the 150-member House and are expected to keep one of their own in the powerful speaker’s job. But the narrow partisan split means House Democrats, many of whom met for two hours Saturday to discuss the volatile contest, could become king-makers.

Several Democrats streaming out of a gathering at the Texas AFL-CIO headquarters endorsed Straus, but it was unclear how many total votes he had after the meeting broke up. Rep. Jim Dunnam, the Waco Democrat who leads the House Democratic caucus, told reporters some Democrats wanted to meet with Straus in person before deciding and said he expected “more definitive news in the near future.”

Another House Democratic leader, Rep. Garnet Coleman of Houston, called Straus an “acceptable alternative” to Craddick, the longest serving Republican in state elective office.

“I’m going to support (Straus),” Coleman said. “I have to pick between Republicans who can do the job and . . . Craddick is a detriment to my constituents.”

Coleman is one of 64 Democrats who signed a letter vowing tooppose Craddick’s re-election “under any circumstances.” The Democrats’ meeting on Saturday came less than 24 hours after 11 GOP reformers intent on overthrowing Craddick settled on Straus, a longtime Republican activist who served in the presidential administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Craddick, one of the most powerful leaders in state government, is fighting back, and the Texas Alliance for Life, a leading anti-abortion group, came to his aid Saturday. In an e-mail blast, the group urged recipients to light up the capitol switchboard with pro-Craddick phone calls. Alliance director Joe Pojman said the chances of passing anti-abortion legislation under Straus would be “greatly diminished, if not eliminated altogether.”

“We will have almost no chance of getting badly needed pro-life bills through the committee process and onto the House floor, effectively killing them,” Pojman said. Straus said in his statement to the AP that he was “communicating directly with legislators on several ‘social issues’ where my record has been mis-stated.”

Craddick also has counted on support from Democrats – they’re called Craddick Ds – and a handful of them showed up at the party gathering Saturday. Among them were Rep. Ryan Guillen of Rio Grande City, Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon of San Antonio and Rep. Dawnna Dukes of Austin.

Dukes, who has caught grief from fellow Democrats for supporting Craddick in the past, said she would remain neutral for now. But the Austin lawmaker was a lot more talkative coming out of the meeting than she was on the way in. Asked about the rap that Straus, first elected in 2005, lacked experience, Dukes said the same had been said of Barack Obama before he was elected president.

She didn’t hesitate when a TV reporter asked her if anything about Straus gave her pause. “No,” she said. “He’s cute.”

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)