Tom Craddick

Paul Burka:

White and Sharp may have miscalculated by jumping into a Senate race that may never come to pass.

Evan Smith:

The serious point here is one I and others have made before: You are not a real party,  you are not a competitive party, unless you field actual, plausible candidates for high office. And from this vantage point, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

Eileen Smith:

Since the fan-f—ing-tastic Blagojevich morning jog clip has been hastily removed from YouTube, I had little choice but to post this video of Evan and I talking about the Senate race, Bill White, John Sharp, and another crappy year for the D’s in 2010.

State Rep. Edmund Kuempel joined the race for speaker Thursday.  The Seguin Republican has filed his paperwork for a bid, according to the Quorum Report.  He is the seventh Republican and twelfth candidate to enter the race.

Kuempel had been considered a potential challenger to House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland). 

With a month to go until the Texas House convenes to elect a new speaker, a number of questions remain unanswered. Faced with a speaker's race unlike any they can remember, top House aides on both sides of the aisle are trying to determine the motivations behind why candidates are running and whether members who want a new speaker can coalesce around a single candidate in time.

While no one is certain when a consensus candidate might emerge, many aides anticipate it to happen shortly after Christmas. Otherwise, the clock may run out, and members who want a new speaker won't have enough time to organize effectively. Still, a number expect the process to play out on first day of session, where Republicans and Democrats are anticipating an opening day like none other

State Rep. Byron Cook

State Rep. Byron Cook has filed paperwork to run for speaker. The Corsicana Republican is the sixth Republican and eleventh candidate to enter the race.  Cook filed paperwork to run for the chamber's highest office, according to Quorum Report. As of publication time, his speaker's report had not been added to the Texas Ethics Commission's website.

Cook had been an outspoken critic of House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) during last session. He called on Craddick to step down on May 21, 2007 on the House floor, just a few days before Craddick refused to acknowledge a motion for him to vacate the chair.

"Mr. Speaker, please consider stepping down. Don't put this body through 18 months of hell," Cook said. "Your re-election will only result in a bloody and brutal and, I believe, non-productive 81st session. Be a statesman."

The main order of business when the Texas House convenes Jan. 13 will be to select a new speaker. It's safe to say members and political observers are more anxious this year than usual about how that process may play out. While the state constitution and chamber precedent provide a roadmap for how the vote may proceed, two particular factors may affect the day's events. The first concerns what roles Secretary of State Hope Andrade and Parliamentarian Terry Keel might play. The second concerns whether the speaker's vote proceeds by secret ballot.

When the House first convenes it will have no speaker or officers. Secretary of State Hope Andrade will preside over the chamber as will a group of temporary officers. As the presiding officer, the secretary of state's role is typically considered a ministerial one. Keel, the parliamentarian who many observers expect to be by Andrade's side that day, has suggested she would have the same authority given to the speaker.

State Rep. Joe Straus may be next Republican to enter the speaker's race. Although the San Antonio Republican has not officially declared his candidacy, he indicated that the House Republicans are looking for new leadership - not just a replacement for House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland).

In an interview with Capitol Inside, Straus expressed his Republican colleagues' frustration with the "chamber's leadership."  He stopped short of saying he was campaigning for the chamber's top job.

By now, the litany of complaints registered against House Speaker Tom Craddick is well-documented. He's divisive. He's too closely tied to lobbyists. He's mistrusted by members of both parties.  By most accounts, the Midland Republican shouldn't be able to muster the votes for another term as speaker. Yet, as the Texas Observer reports, political divisions in the Texas House work in Craddick's favor because they prevent a consensus alternative from emerging.    

Craddick has survived previous attempts to unseat him, but he is "clearly fighting for his political life." Sixty-four Democrats and "at least" 10 Republicans have publically said they want to get rid of Craddick.  A number of Republicans, including state Reps. Charlie Geren (R-Fort Worth) and Burt Solomons (R-Carrollton), have openly stated their desire for a new speaker.

State Rep. Burt Solomons entered the race for speaker Tuesday. Solomons entrance brings the number of declared speaker's candidates to 10. Half are Republicans.

Solomons, a Carrollton Republican, chairs the House Financial Institutions Committee. During the last session, Solomons said that it was "probably time" for House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) to "finish his post," according to the Dallas Morning News.

House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) is no longer the most powerful man in state government. With more Democrats elected to the chamber last week his power may, "melt away," the Dallas Morning News writes.

Craddick's demise would bring a "welcome, new brand of leadership," that the paper says is needed for the state's urban areas. 

The editorial board hopes members can put together a coalition to elect a Republican or Democratic speaker.

A group of 13 House Republicans expressed their support for Speaker Tom Craddick Monday.  In a statement, the Republicans said they were "proud" to support the Midland Republican.

"Although Texas has faced many challenges since 2003, the Texas House of Representatives has fulfilled its obligations to the people of Texas under Tom Craddick's leadership," the group said in a statement.