Straus vs. Smithee

Since incumbent Speaker Tom Craddick's (R-Midland) decision to not seek the office of Speaker of the Texas House was announced yesterday, battle lines have been drawn in the Speaker's race. On one side is Representative Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) and on the other side is Representative John Smithee (R-Amarillo).

Representative Straus has a thin but politically moderate record in the Lege. He is disliked by social conservative leaders such as the Texas Eagle Forum and former state G.O.P. vice chair David Barton. As of today, Representative Straus also has the support of the majority of House Democrats.

Representative Smithee has been in the Lege for 24 years and, I'm assuming, would be a preferable Speaker to Straus as far as the social conservatives are concerned. At the Craddick allies' meeting at Sullivan's Steakhouse in Austin yesterday there was supposedly unanimous support amongst the attendees for Smithee as Speaker.

Karen Brooks, writing at the Dallas Morning News' Trailblazers blog, is reporting this afternoon that at least five Smithee supporters have now switched their allegiance to Straus since the political wake at Sullivan's for Craddick last night. This brings Straus' number of pledges to 96 and more notably shows that he's taking Representatives directly out of the Smithee camp.

Looks like the odds against Smithee are getting pretty long.