Thomas Russell Craddick, Sr., known as Tom Craddick (born September 19, 1943), is the first Republican to have served as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since Reconstruction. Craddick wielded the Speaker's gavel from 2003-2009. A House member from the district based in Midland, Craddick was first elected in 1968 at the age of twenty-five.
On November 6, 2012, when Craddick won his 23rd term in the Texas House, his daughter, Christi Craddick, was easily elected as a Republican to the Texas Railroad Commission, the state's utility regulatory body.
Read more about Tom Craddick: Early Career, Speaker of The House, Speaker of The House Controversy, Personal Life