Published: January 03, 2009 07:15 pm      

Democrats meet about volatile race for speaker

AUSTIN — Everybody expects the next Texas House leader to be a Republican, but Democrats who gathered in Austin Saturday could play a pivotal role in choosing between GOP House Speaker Tom Craddick and his new rival.

Rep. Joe Straus of San Antonio, a relative newcomer to the Texas Legislature, emerged as the unanimous 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 as of Saturday afternoon, so a few dozen Democrats could make or break his nascent candidacy.

Meanwhile, Craddick spokeswoman Alexis DeLee said the Midland Republican was gaining support — not losing it.

“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.”

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 the gathering at the Texas AFL-CIO headquarters endorsed Straus, but it was unclear how many total votes he had amassed after the meeting broke up. Rep. Jim Dunnam, the Waco Democrat who leads the 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 to oppose Craddick’s re-election “under any circumstances.” The official vote takes place on Jan. 13, opening day of the next Texas legislative session. But the pre-session campaign is going at full tilt.

On Friday night, 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. He plans to hold his own meeting Sunday, and his supporters stress that he still has far more votes than any candidate.

The Texas Alliance for Life, a leading anti-abortion group, came to Craddick’s 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 could not immediately be reached for comment.

On Friday, Craddick issued a written statement shortly after Straus spoke to reporters outside the Austin home of Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, who hosted the meeting of GOP members opposing the speaker’s re-election.

“There are great challenges facing the state, and there are clear differences in experience and philosophy between Mr. Straus and me,” Craddick said. “I am confident that I will be re-elected speaker.”

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.”