Tom Craddick: Lone Star Dealmaker: How the nation's longest-serving legislator got where he is--and why he stays.

• Author: Griffin, Kelley
• Position: LEGISLATOR PROFILE

At 25, Tom Craddick knew exactly what he wanted to be: a U.S. congressman. So after serving in student government in high school in Midland, Texas, and at Texas Tech University, his next step seemed clear.

"The perfect training ground for Congress is the Texas House of Representatives," Craddick says. "In 1968, I chose this as my first campaign experience."

His father thought it was a crazy idea. Democrats controlled both chambers and the governor's mansion, and they had since Reconstruction. "You'll never get elected," he said.

But Craddick did--not that winning a seat gave him much power. At the time, Republicans were greatly outnumbered, with only nine of the 150 House seats. Democrats wouldn't even let a Republican put forward a bill. So Craddick got to know his way around, made friends with his roommates in Austin--fellow lawmakers, all Democrats--and socialized at the movies and at the Broken Spoke, a local honky-tonk.

Because these friends were willing to co-sponsor a bill of his--to support his local district court, where cases were piling up due to a shortage of clerical help--it passed with his name on it. He says a copy of the bill still hangs in his office.

With a Little Help From His Friends

Those friendships came in handy that first session, and Craddick says they have served him well in all 52 of his years in the Legislature. That's the longest tenure of any state lawmaker in the country, and at 78, he's running unopposed this fall for another term.

"Filing that bill was an important lesson I carry with me today," Craddick says. "You have to get to know your constituents and their needs, but you also have to work across the aisle and get to know your fellow members. (They) can help or hurt you during your service."

And that bid for Congress? The opportunity came 11 years after he was first elected to the Statehouse. He and his wife gave it serious consideration before deciding to stay put.

"Ultimately, Nadine and I decided a life in Washington, D.C., while raising a family in Midland, was not the life for us," Craddick says. "There have been many opportunities to serve in other roles, but this is where I could have a family life, a business and a political career."

He was still in the minority party, but he had made inroads, being named by Democratic speakers in 1975 to lead the Natural Resources Committee--the first Republican to lead a committee since Reconstruction--and in 1993 to head the powerful Ways and Means...