The best source for the official election returns from last Tuesday is the Texas Secretary of State's Web site. Visitors can access all legislative races and even find out how their county voted in each contest. Here is the link.
As reported earlier, the race for Texas Speaker of the House is heating up, with several efforts by both Republicans and Democrats to oust the current speaker, Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland). One of the most astute observers of this highly competitive yet largely secretive contest is Paul Burka of Texas Monthly. Here's the link to his blog, which contains the latest information and numerous comments posted to the site as well. The result won't become official until January, but Mr. Burka can certainly provide insights and previews.
Election returns, still unofficial, produced a 76-74 GOP majority, but Rep. Linda Harper-Brown, R-Irving, was clinging to a 29-vote victory margin. (Her original 25-vote margin increased after Dallas County officials double-checked the votes.)
It will be Monday at the earliest before Dallas election officials can review 280 provisional ballots given to voters who initially could not be found on the registration rolls. Those ballots — not part of the election night total — could give Democrat Rob Romano the Irving seat.
A lengthy election challenge over that seat makes a quick resolution of the speaker's race unlikely as members wait to see what the final partisan split will be. The speaker is elected by House members.
As Capitol insiders contemplated the unprecedented prospect of a chamber split down the middle, Craddick's spokeswoman, Alexis DeLee, said, "We're confident we'll hold onto that seat."
How significant would the switch of one vote be?
"As long as Republicans have the majority," DeLee said, "we're confident he'll remain speaker."
Last year, Craddick faced a contested speaker election at the start of the legislative session and was challenged again at the end. Challenging a sitting speaker is rare. The last time it happened was 1959. Now, it appears to be becoming a regular occurrence as some members have criticized Craddick's leadership style.
At 75-75, a speaker's election would only get more complicated. House members would face an unprecedented dilemma. It is one thing for members of a minority party to support the majority to elect a speaker. In the case of a tie, however, anyone who crosses the aisle, in effect, would be giving the gavel — and the power — to the other political party. That, some lawmakers suggested, might be difficult to explain to party activists and primary voters.
The slim margin seemed to encourage more House members from both parties to file as speaker candidates.
Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, faxed his entry overnight to the Texas Ethics Commission. Rep. Allan Ritter, D-Nederland, filed the paperwork Wednesday afternoon. And Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, announced his candidacy at a news conference in his Capitol office.
They join Craddick, Reps. Delwin Jones, R-Lubbock; Sylvester Turner, D-Houston; Jim Keffer, R-Eastland; and Sefronia Thompson, D-Houston; as official candidates.
Others are being mentioned in the discussions about who should be speaker.
Rep. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, is a member of Craddick's inner circle, but he said Wednesday that he is getting a significant number of calls from Republicans and Democrats.
"I have discussed with them my concern about the House and how we manage it and my concern about the party with my fellow Republicans," Gattis said. "But I haven't asked any members for votes."
At his news conference, Merritt laid the problems of the divided House at Craddick's feet.
"Arrogance and abuse of political power split this House and damaged life-long alliances forged in what was best for Texas," he said.
Merritt said that Republicans, who had 88 House members six years ago, have lost seats in each of the past three election cycles under Craddick's leadership.
He offered himself as a reform candidate. He said he would push for the speaker's election to be done by secret ballot to prevent a speaker from punishing members who opposed him. He also said speaker candidates should not solicit pledge cards, which members sign promising to support a speaker candidate, because too many times the pledges are tied to political donations.
DeLee denied the charge that Craddick governs by fear or retribution. As for secret ballot, she noted that any vote of the House must be recorded if three members request it. She declined to discuss pledge cards.
Craddick was in Austin on Wednesday, communicating with supporters. He had donated about $2 million from his political bank account to help his supporters, both Democrats and Republicans, win election.
Still, some incumbents — both pro- and anti-Craddick — didn't survive Tuesday night: Bill Zedler, R-Arlington; Juan Garcia, D-Corpus Christi; Tony Goolsby, R-Dallas; and Dan Barrett, D-Fort Worth.
Another incumbent, Chuck Hopson, D-Jacksonville, survived with a 102-vote margin and could face a recount.
Meanwhile, about 65 Democrats met for a chaotic four hours Wednesday afternoon, trying to mediate past differences. They agreed to unite in opposition to Craddick, who had 14 Democratic supporters last year.
The proposal of a Gattis speakership — backed by Democrats — resulted in a heated, lengthy debate about the Georgetown Republican.
Finally, about 60 Democrats signed a pledge promising not to support Craddick for speaker under any circumstances. The anti-Craddick pledge is supposed to remain confidential until enough Republicans sign it to reach 75 — enough members to block Craddick's re-election.
There was no consensus, however, to support any candidate.
"There was no 'Kumbaya,' " one Democrat said.
In the Senate, Sen. Kim Brimer (R-Fort Worth) was defeated by Wendy Davis, a Democrat. According to press reports, this may affect procedures in the upper chamber which operates according to the policy called the Two-Thirds Rule. The rule requires two-thirds of senators to agree before any bill can be considered for public debate in the Senate.
According to the American-Statesman, "Before Davis, the Democrats had 11 votes — just the number required to invoke the rule, assuming they all voted to stick together, which they often did not. Now, with 12 Democrats in the 31-member Texas Senate, their clout increases."
As noted earlier here, party affiliation is not crucial in the Texas Legislature for two-year colleges, as members of both parties represent districts containing these schools.