The congressman from the 11th District is Mike Conaway, a Republican first elected in 2004. He is a low-profile but well-regarded conservative; The Houston Chronicle in December 2010 called him “the most important Texas lawmaker you don’t yet know.” Read More

The congressman from the 11th District is Mike Conaway, a Republican first elected in 2004. He is a low-profile but well-regarded conservative; The Houston Chronicle in December 2010 called him “the most important Texas lawmaker you don’t yet know.”

Conaway grew up in Odessa—he played offensive and defensive line on the Odessa Permian High School team, and graduated from East Texas State University, before it became known as Texas A&M-Commerce. He worked as a certified public accountant for, among others, George W. Bush, and was chief financial officer in Arbusto/Bush Exploration during the 1980s. After Bush became governor, he named Conaway to the state Board of Public Accountancy, and Conaway later chaired the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. In May 2003, he finished second in the all-party special primary election in the old 19th District, which included nearly half of the new 11th. In June, he lost by fewer than 600 votes in a hard-fought runoff with Republican Randy Neugebauer of Lubbock, who later won the seat.

After state Republicans pushed through a new redistricting plan in October 2003, Conaway was the obvious frontrunner for this seat. Democratic Rep. Charles Stenholm, who represented much of the area in the old 17th District, decided to run against Neugebauer in the new 19th. Conaway’s Republican primary opponent was Bill Lester, a political science professor who campaigned against Bush’s proposed guest worker program. Lester called for the militarization of the border with helicopter patrols to stop illegal immigration. Conaway supported increased documentation of people crossing the border. He won 75%- 25%, carrying 33 of the 36 counties and losing only in the eastern part of the district. In the general election, he won easily, 77%-22%, and has been re-elected with ease ever since.

Conaway has a solidly conservative voting record. He voted against the original $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry in October 2008, but voted for the final version after his old friend President Bush called him to urge his support. Since Bush’s departure, he has remained influential. He served in 2009 as the senior Republican on an Armed Services Committee panel looking at the Pentagon’s problems in acquiring goods and services, and he worked closely with Democrats on identifying areas for improvement. After the GOP won control of the House in 2010, Conaway was named to a 22-member transition team helping his party adjust to its majority status. He also became chairman of the Agriculture Committee’s panel on farm commodities and risk management. He has been willing to counter fellow conservatives who have criticized subsidies for mohair, a fabric yielded from Angora goats. Numerous Angora farmers live in his district.

In 2007, Conaway, a certified public accountant, joined the executive committee of the National Republican Congressional Committee to take charge of auditing. He uncovered an internal fraud scheme by the committee’s longtime treasurer, who had embezzled almost $1 million. He is known for requiring his staff to read and understand the Constitution, and wants to see all congressional aides follow suit. “It’s only 4,500 words—it’s not like reading War and Peace,’’ he told the Chronicle.