The Chron has a story up in which House Appropriations chairman Jim Pitts has announced that he too is in the race for speaker. Craddick released a list of 84 names that are supposedly pledged to him, but, as with most things Craddick says, it’s bullshit.
So here’s where we are thus far: McCall says he has 73 names and that Craddick has 72 names. Craddick says that he has 84 names and a magical unicorn. Senfronia and Talton have thrown their support to McCall. Pitts is now in. Some more seasoned R’s like Kuempel are suspiciously missing from Craddick’s list.
A couple notes - McCall was hit pretty hard a couple cycles ago by Leininger and survived. Pitts refused to accept a contribution from Jim Leininger during this cycle. There are a few Parent PAC names on Craddick’s “list”.
The race is on, and the message is simple. With this many candidates in the running, every member should vote for someone who will allow them to fairly represent their districts. We’ll keep you updated as best we can.