Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Lewis wins runoff against West, vows to support Rep. Craddick
by Kathleen Thurber
Midland Reporter-Telegram
After a convincing win in the District 81 state representative primary run-off Tuesday, Judge Tryon Lewis said his work as a representative will start today and it's work he said will include helping re-elect Midlander Tom Craddick to the position of House speaker come January.
"I think we're very fortunate to have a speaker from West Texas," Lewis said, adding that he'll do whatever he can to help Craddick maintain a position Lewis called one of the most powerful in state government.
Lewis defeated incumbent Buddy West 76 percent to 24 percent in Ector County, with similar leads elsewhere winning Winkler County with about 83 percent of the vote and Andrews County with about 68 percent of the vote.
A runoff primary election was held after none of the four candidates for Republican state representative won more than 50 percent of the vote during the March 4 primary. Randy Rives and Jesse Gore were defeated after the initial primary.
Though Midlanders didn't have as much of a stake in Tuesday's election, the outcome affects locals hoping Craddick can garner a fourth term as speaker of the Texas House.
"Clearly that's going to be one of the defining battles," said Andrew Krach, assistant professor of government at the University of Texas in Austin.
After a group of both Democrats and Republicans attempted to replace Craddick last session by presenting a motion to elect a new speaker, the state representative races throughout Texas have become more important to many, as those elected will be the ones to cast votes for or against Craddick in January.
Though for Craddick to even vie for the top House position he must first overcome challenger and Midland City Councilman Bill Dingus, a Democrat, in the November state representative election. Both Dingus and Craddick ran unopposed in their respective parties.
West said he and Craddick were always able to work together on actions that needed to be taken. West never stated whether he would support Craddick if elected and said Tuesday he would have had to wait for the right time to make that decision.
"I would have to wait and see at the appropriate time," he said.
Craddick won the last speaker election by 12 votes in the 150-member House.
After the March 4 primaries, Krach said, Craddick came out well, with a few of his supporters losing their seats, but about an equal number of representatives who opposed him being replaced. In El Paso, incumbent Pat Haggerty, who opposed Craddick, was overcome by challenger Dee Margo -- someone Kathleen Staudt, political science professor at the University of Texas at the Permian Basin, said many speculate would support Craddick. But, how much the issue of speaker support played into what she called a vicious election is hard to say.
"Really it's speculation," she said.
Craig Emmert, associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at the Permian Basin, said he'd be surprised if most District 81 voters were keenly aware of the influence the winner of Tuesday's election could have on insider party politics like the speaker race.
He said some party activists may have voted with Craddick's future in mind, but that most average voters were simply voting for West's past record or for the positive action they think they'll see out of Lewis.
Such a run-off election usually doesn't gather much steam even when locals take the time to visit the polls during the first election, according to the Ector County Election Administrator Mitzi Scheible. But, after about 11,990 of Ector County's 66,894 registered voters cast Republican ballots March 4, 6,102 cast ballots again in the run-off election, with 3,476 voting early. Typically, run-offs draw about 30 percent of the original voters.
"It pays to knock on doors," Lewis said.
After losing to West in the Andrews primary election, he expanded his focus and spent more time meeting the people of Andrews, having only attended a few town meetings and functions before the primary, he said.
Still, Lewis said, he expected the race would be much closer, a fact that was evident by his unwillingness to accept the win when early voting totals showed he had won that segment by about 76 percent to West's 24 percent.
Lewis said issues he wants to start addressing immediately include establishing tougher laws on illegal immigration, addressing tax issues and eliminating state mandates on education, which is something he said should be handed back to the local government.
Part of preparing for the state representative position will include meeting other representatives before the session starts in January and working to form credible bills that others will be able to support, Lewis said.
"It's easy to see the problems," Lewis said. "Not as easy to see the solutions."
West said they ran a good campaign that he wouldn't have changed, despite the results.
"You're always disappointed, but there's so many other things out there for a person to do," West said. "Just looking forward to spending more time with my grand kids."
What turned into brutal primary races in areas like El Paso could give Democratic nominees an edge in the November election, Staudt said.
If that were to happen in several areas, Krach said, the speaker position could be up for grabs by a Democrat, though he added the chances of that in what is becoming a long-time Republican-dominated state are still slim.
There is no Democratic candidate in the District 81 race. Lewis will run against Libertarian Elmo Hockman.
"There's a lot of work to be done and it's time to do it," Lewis said.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
"I think we're very fortunate to have a speaker from West Texas," Lewis said, adding that he'll do whatever he can to help Craddick maintain a position Lewis called one of the most powerful in state government.
Lewis defeated incumbent Buddy West 76 percent to 24 percent in Ector County, with similar leads elsewhere winning Winkler County with about 83 percent of the vote and Andrews County with about 68 percent of the vote.
A runoff primary election was held after none of the four candidates for Republican state representative won more than 50 percent of the vote during the March 4 primary. Randy Rives and Jesse Gore were defeated after the initial primary.
Though Midlanders didn't have as much of a stake in Tuesday's election, the outcome affects locals hoping Craddick can garner a fourth term as speaker of the Texas House.
"Clearly that's going to be one of the defining battles," said Andrew Krach, assistant professor of government at the University of Texas in Austin.
After a group of both Democrats and Republicans attempted to replace Craddick last session by presenting a motion to elect a new speaker, the state representative races throughout Texas have become more important to many, as those elected will be the ones to cast votes for or against Craddick in January.
Though for Craddick to even vie for the top House position he must first overcome challenger and Midland City Councilman Bill Dingus, a Democrat, in the November state representative election. Both Dingus and Craddick ran unopposed in their respective parties.
West said he and Craddick were always able to work together on actions that needed to be taken. West never stated whether he would support Craddick if elected and said Tuesday he would have had to wait for the right time to make that decision.
"I would have to wait and see at the appropriate time," he said.
Craddick won the last speaker election by 12 votes in the 150-member House.
After the March 4 primaries, Krach said, Craddick came out well, with a few of his supporters losing their seats, but about an equal number of representatives who opposed him being replaced. In El Paso, incumbent Pat Haggerty, who opposed Craddick, was overcome by challenger Dee Margo -- someone Kathleen Staudt, political science professor at the University of Texas at the Permian Basin, said many speculate would support Craddick. But, how much the issue of speaker support played into what she called a vicious election is hard to say.
"Really it's speculation," she said.
Craig Emmert, associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at the Permian Basin, said he'd be surprised if most District 81 voters were keenly aware of the influence the winner of Tuesday's election could have on insider party politics like the speaker race.
He said some party activists may have voted with Craddick's future in mind, but that most average voters were simply voting for West's past record or for the positive action they think they'll see out of Lewis.
Such a run-off election usually doesn't gather much steam even when locals take the time to visit the polls during the first election, according to the Ector County Election Administrator Mitzi Scheible. But, after about 11,990 of Ector County's 66,894 registered voters cast Republican ballots March 4, 6,102 cast ballots again in the run-off election, with 3,476 voting early. Typically, run-offs draw about 30 percent of the original voters.
"It pays to knock on doors," Lewis said.
After losing to West in the Andrews primary election, he expanded his focus and spent more time meeting the people of Andrews, having only attended a few town meetings and functions before the primary, he said.
Still, Lewis said, he expected the race would be much closer, a fact that was evident by his unwillingness to accept the win when early voting totals showed he had won that segment by about 76 percent to West's 24 percent.
Lewis said issues he wants to start addressing immediately include establishing tougher laws on illegal immigration, addressing tax issues and eliminating state mandates on education, which is something he said should be handed back to the local government.
Part of preparing for the state representative position will include meeting other representatives before the session starts in January and working to form credible bills that others will be able to support, Lewis said.
"It's easy to see the problems," Lewis said. "Not as easy to see the solutions."
West said they ran a good campaign that he wouldn't have changed, despite the results.
"You're always disappointed, but there's so many other things out there for a person to do," West said. "Just looking forward to spending more time with my grand kids."
What turned into brutal primary races in areas like El Paso could give Democratic nominees an edge in the November election, Staudt said.
If that were to happen in several areas, Krach said, the speaker position could be up for grabs by a Democrat, though he added the chances of that in what is becoming a long-time Republican-dominated state are still slim.
There is no Democratic candidate in the District 81 race. Lewis will run against Libertarian Elmo Hockman.
"There's a lot of work to be done and it's time to do it," Lewis said.
Kathleen Thurber can be reached at kthurber@mrt.com.
 |
||
| Friends, civic leaders begin fundraising efforts for Midland Southside library |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of mywesttexas.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, however we reserve the right to delete any post we see that may be considered slanderous, excessive and/or foul language, or any post that we may deem inappropriate.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
News
Sports
Business
Entertain
Life
