30 Facts About Tom Craddick

Thomas Russell Craddick was born on September 19,1943 and is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives representing the 82nd district.

Tom Craddick was Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from January 2003 to January 2009.

Tom Craddick was the first Republican to serve as Speaker since Reconstruction.

Tom Craddick was first elected in 1968 at the age of twenty-five and, as of 2023, is the longest serving legislator in the history of the Texas House of Representatives and the longest serving incumbent state legislator in the United States.

In November 2023, Tom Craddick announced he would run for reelection to a record twenty-ninth term in the 2024 Texas House of Representatives election.

Tom Craddick was born in Beloit, Wisconsin where he lived until he was nine years old.

Tom Craddick was one of eight Republicans in the chamber at that time.

Tom Craddick's victory came on the same day that Richard M Nixon was elected as US President.

In 1975, Tom Craddick was named chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, the first Republican to have chaired a Texas legislative committee in more than a century.

On May 27,2023, Tom Craddick voted against the impeachment of Texas attorney general Ken Paxton.

On January 11,2003, after thirty-four years in the House, Tom Craddick became the first Republican Speaker in more than 130 years.

Tom Craddick held the presiding officer's position for six years.

In December 2006, Tom Craddick faced credible challenges to his re-election as Speaker for the Eightieth Texas Legislature: Brian McCall, Jim Pitts, and Senfronia Thompson, all of whom announced candidacies for the speakership.

Supporters of Pitts pressed for a secret ballot in order to avoid retribution should their efforts fail, while Tom Craddick had maintained all along that he had more than the minimum number of votes needed for re-election.

Tom Craddick became increasingly unpopular with not only Democrats but those of his own party, and many called for a new Speaker to be elected.

The attempts to oust Tom Craddick continued through the weekend as other Republicans made additional motions, which were disallowed for a time, although ultimately successful.

However, then Representative Byron Cook, a departing Republican from Corsicana, said that the fight was about Tom Craddick having consolidated power with lobbyists and having used campaign contributions to maintain control in the House: "This is about the convergence of money and power and influence," Cook said.

Specifically, Tom Craddick recessed the legislature for two and a half hours after Representatives attempted to gain recognition to put the question of Tom Craddick's removal to a vote.

When Tom Craddick shunned her advice, Davis and her assistant, Chris Griesel, resigned.

Tom Craddick immediately hired former Representative Terry Keel of Austin to the post as well as former Representative Ron Wilson as Keel's assistant.

The session resumed until 1 am and despite further protests from members of the legislature, Tom Craddick remained in his position as Speaker, and the session was recessed.

In January 2009, Tom Craddick was ousted as Speaker after nearly the entire Democratic Caucus and a number of Republicans broke ranks to vote for Joe Straus, a two-term moderate Republican from San Antonio.

Tom Craddick won reelection to his House seat in the general election on November 2,2010.

Tom Craddick has an "F" rating from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws for his voting history regarding cannabis-related causes.

Tom Craddick holds BBA and MBA degrees from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech.

Tom Craddick lists his occupation as a sales representative for Mustang Mud, an oilfield supply company, although he is a real estate speculator and developer.

On November 6,2012, when Tom Craddick won his 23rd term in the Texas House, his daughter Christi was easily elected as a Republican to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas regulatory body.

Tom and Christi Craddick both have ownership interests in hundreds of oil and gas leases in the state, with a value of over $20 million.

Tom Craddick receives royalties of more than $2 million per year for brokering extraction lease sales, which are potential conflicts of interest as he sits on the committee that oversees the state's oil industry.

Tom Craddick introduced a bill that would preserve the interests of holders of overriding royalties such as his own; he has reintroduced it after it was vetoed by Governor Abbott.