Historical Odds Are Against A Contested Speaker’s Race Reaching The Floor

Although the rhetoric about the race to unseat House Speaker Tom Craddick is red hot at the moment, odds are against the race for speaker being contested on the day of gavel down, if one examines the history of speakership elections in Texas.
The Austin American Statesman yesterday pointed to the 1991 speaker election involving former Speaker Gib Lewis (D-Fort Worth) as having been one of the more contentious speaker elections in recent memory. In this case, however, only one name for speaker was placed in nomination on the House Floor.
The first election of Speaker Pete Laney (D-Hale Center) back in 1993 also produced some potential candidates early on, but again, only the name of Laney found itself put in nomination on the House floor.

One must journey back to Lewis’ predecessor, Bill Wayne Clayton in 1975, to find the last time in which a contested race for speaker actually reached the House floor with more than one name placed in nomination for speaker.

In that instance, the start of the 64th Legislature, Carl Parker of Jefferson County, was nominated and seconded for the post of speaker against Clayton.

The final vote was 112-33 with Clayton leading and 3 present and not voting. For pure entertainment value, it is interesting to note that a young Kay Bailey (Hutchison) a Republican from Harris County delivered one of the seconding speeches for Clayton. (For further entertainment value, note that Tom Craddick seconded the first nomination of Pete Laney for speaker in 1993).

In fact, since 1935 when Coke Stevenson stood for his second election for Speaker against Robert W. Calvert (who, after losing 80-68, moved that the Chief Clerk be instructed to cast the entire vote of the House for Stevenson), contested speakers’ elections that have resulted in multiple nominations being made from the House floor have been very rare; hotly contested elections for Speaker have been even more rare.

Only seven contested speakership races have reached the floor of the House between 1935 and 2006. They are:

1935: Coke Stevenson defeats Robert W. Calvert 80-68 (elected by acclimation on motion of Calvert).

1949: In the 51st Legislature, Durwood Manford and Joe M. Kilgore both sought the speakership. While the vote was being counted, Kilgore moved to have Manford elected by acclamation. This prevailed without dissent and a motion to destroy all ballots cast also passed.

1959: In 1959 for the 56th Legislature, Waggoner Carr, going for his second term as Speaker, narroly defeated Joe Burkett, Jr. 79-71.
1961: For the 57th Regular Session, James A. Turman defeated Wade F. Spilman 83-66.

1963: For the 58th Legislature, Byron M. Tunnell defeated John C. Alaniz 141-9.

1972: For the Second Called Session of the 62nd Legislature following the resignation of Gus Mutscher, Rayford Price defeated L. DeWitt Hale 77-65.

1975: For the 64th Legislature, Bill Clayton defeated Carl Parker 112-33.

Essentially, out of 34 speakership elections, only seven  (about 21 percent) have been contested.
Of those seven, only four (1972, 1961, 1959 and 1935) could even be considered as having been “close” (roughly 12 percent of the 34).
One must go back to the 39th Legislature in 1925 to find a race when more than two candidates for speaker actually got so far as to be nominated on the floor of the House. In that session, Lee Satterwhite defeated T.K. Irwin and J.W. Hall 78-57-10.

Source: LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE LIBRARY.

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