Texas politics’ musical chairs





Contact McNeely at dmcneely@austin.rr.com (512) 458-2963.

Contact McNeely at dmcneely@austin.rr.com (512) 458-2963.

While the political attention of many Texans is focused on the 2008 presidential election, and to a more involved few, the control of the Texas House of Representatives, there are some folks already looking ahead to 2010. That’s the next time that most of Texas’ non-judicial statewide offices are up for election. fices are up for election.

There had already been speculation about a sizable game of political musical chairs, with various statewide officials running for other offices.

That speculation, which includes Republican U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s strong hints she’ll run for Texas governor, helped prod Gov. Rick Perry to say he’s running for re-election in 2010.

Some think Perry’s serious. Some think he’s trying to avoid lame-duckism. One thinks Perry might just be messing with Hutchison’s head. Prior to the 2002 election, and again before the 2006 election, Hutchison hinted at running for governor, but then backed out.

Perry’s repeated assertion he’ll run may put a temporary damper on at least the public discussion by officeholders hoping to move up the ladder. But figure the behind-the-scenes jostling for position to continue.

The Texas pecking order for statewide offices is a result of the aftermath of the Civil War.

Like several other states that were part of the Confederacy, which endured heavy-handed, Reconstruction for years after the Civil War, Texans responded with a new constitution designed to avoid the concentration of power.

Thus Texas statewide elected officials today — in addition to two United States senators — include not just a separately elected governor and lieutenant governor, but also an attorney general, agriculture commissioner, land commissioner, comptroller, three railroad commissioners, nine Supreme Court justices, and nine justices of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

One result is that in a state as large as Texas, with around 20 media markets, it can be a difficult and expensive chore to become sufficiently well known to compete for those elected offices.

Some personally wealthy people have managed to get themselves elected directly as governor or lieutenant governor, such as former Republican Gov. Bill Clements (1978) and former Democratic Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby (1972). But those less well-heeled usually work their way up the political food chain, often coming through the Texas Legislature, less often from Congress.

The so-called down-ballot statewide offices become entry points – stepping stones — for positions higher up. Perry, for instance, went from the Texas House to agriculture commissioner to lieutenant governor before becoming governor. Hutchison, another former Texas House member, was elected state treasurer in 1990 before winning a special Senate election in 1993.

In the 2006 election, then-Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn ran for governor as an independent (and lost). Susan Combs, a former Texas House member elected to replace Perry as agriculture commissioner in 1998, ran for and was elected comptroller.

Her vacancy from the Ag Commission job was seized on by state Sen. Todd Staples, who earlier had served in the Texas House. He ran for the job and cruised to victory (no primary opposition, won the November election with 54.8 percent).

He’s a lawyer and politically ambitious, and if you think he’s interested in spending the rest of his life as agriculture commissioner, we’ve got some feral hog belly futures we want to sell you. A previous ag commissioner is now governor, which isn’t lost on his successors and other ambitious pols.

There was a slight shuffle in 2002, when Republican John Cornyn left the attorney general’s office to run for a vacant U.S. Senate seat. Greg Abbott left the Supreme Court to run to succeed Cornyn as attorney general. David Dewhurst, who was land commissioner, ran for lieutenant governor.

There was a much more significant shuffle in 1998, the year the Democrats got wiped out of statewide office. Then-Land Commissioner Garry Mauro challenged then-Gov. George W. Bush for re-election, and got buried.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock and Attorney General Dan Morales didn’t seek re-election. Then-Comptroller John Sharp ran for lieutenant governor, and was nosed out by Agriculture Commissioner Perry and Bush’s coattails. Then-Supreme Court Justice Cornyn was elected attorney general. Republican Railroad Commissioner Carole Keeton Strayhorn (her last name was Rylander back then) was elected comptroller.

So Republican and Democratic hopefuls are looking ahead to 2010, wondering what jobs might be worth trying for.

Meanwhile, both parties are also wondering, after the stunning turnout in the primary elections, whether 2008 will be a watershed year, with significant movement toward the Democrats in Texas, or whether it was just a passing storm.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.