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Tom Craddick
Thomas Russell Craddick (born September 19, 1943) is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives representing the 82nd district. Craddick was the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from January 2003 to January 2009. He was the first Republican to serve as Speaker since Reconstruction.
Craddick was first elected in 1968 at the age of twenty-five and, as of 2025, is the longest serving legislator in the history of the Texas House of Representatives and the longest serving incumbent state legislator in the United States.
On July 1, 2025, Craddick announced he would be running in 2026 for his 30th term.
Craddick was born in Beloit, Wisconsin to Russell F. Craddick (1913-1986) and Beatrice (Kowalick) Craddick (1914-2001). He lived in Beloit until he was nine years old. He became an Eagle Scout.
While he was a doctoral student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Craddick decided to run for the legislature to succeed the incumbent Republican Frank Kell Cahoon of Midland, who was not seeking a third two-year term. According to Craddick's official biography, even his father, businessman R.F. Craddick (1913–1986), warned him: "Texas is run by Democrats. You can't win." Although this part of Texas had been trending Republican at the national level for some time (for instance, Midland itself has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1948), Democrats continued to hold most local offices well into the 1980s.
He was one of eight Republicans in the chamber at that time. His victory came on the same day that Richard M. Nixon was elected as U.S. President.
In 1975, Craddick was named chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, the first Republican to have chaired a Texas legislative committee in more than a century. At that time in Texas, a legislator did not need to be in the majority party in order to chair a committee.
On November 6, 2012, when Craddick won his 23rd term in the Texas House, his daughter Christi was easily elected as a Republican to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas regulatory body.
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Tom Craddick
Thomas Russell Craddick (born September 19, 1943) is a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives representing the 82nd district. Craddick was the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from January 2003 to January 2009. He was the first Republican to serve as Speaker since Reconstruction.
Craddick was first elected in 1968 at the age of twenty-five and, as of 2025, is the longest serving legislator in the history of the Texas House of Representatives and the longest serving incumbent state legislator in the United States.
On July 1, 2025, Craddick announced he would be running in 2026 for his 30th term.
Craddick was born in Beloit, Wisconsin to Russell F. Craddick (1913-1986) and Beatrice (Kowalick) Craddick (1914-2001). He lived in Beloit until he was nine years old. He became an Eagle Scout.
While he was a doctoral student at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Craddick decided to run for the legislature to succeed the incumbent Republican Frank Kell Cahoon of Midland, who was not seeking a third two-year term. According to Craddick's official biography, even his father, businessman R.F. Craddick (1913–1986), warned him: "Texas is run by Democrats. You can't win." Although this part of Texas had been trending Republican at the national level for some time (for instance, Midland itself has not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1948), Democrats continued to hold most local offices well into the 1980s.
He was one of eight Republicans in the chamber at that time. His victory came on the same day that Richard M. Nixon was elected as U.S. President.
In 1975, Craddick was named chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, the first Republican to have chaired a Texas legislative committee in more than a century. At that time in Texas, a legislator did not need to be in the majority party in order to chair a committee.
On November 6, 2012, when Craddick won his 23rd term in the Texas House, his daughter Christi was easily elected as a Republican to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's oil and gas regulatory body.