Craddick D update

Phillip Martin has a useful chart listing the 15 Craddick Democrats from last session and giving an update as to their current status. The bottom line:

Of the 15, there are definitely 5 fewer supporters for Craddick, two "maybes" (three, if you include Rep. Turner), three Craddick D's facing primary challenges, and maybe a few more who would no longer call themselves Craddick D's.

The five fewer supporters include the four who have publicly disavowed Craddick - Reps. Chavez, Deshotel, Lucio, and Rose - plus the retiring Rep. Puente. There's also one possible new Craddick D, but I'd file it under "maybe" for now. As I've said before, this is at least as crucial to Craddick's hopes as the '08 general. He simply cannot win re-election as Speaker without a core of Democratic support. I'd put the over/under at ten Democratic reps for him to win, though that may change depending on what happens in the GOP primaries. Point is, he's operating close to the edge. And he knows it, too, which is why he's gearing up to take out some of his Republican detractors. We may not have a role to play in picking Presidential nominees next year, but March is still going to be eventful and exciting around here.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on October 23, 2007 to That's our Lege