WACO, Texas (AP) -- Republican Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick won't have a challenger in the November election after all.
A federal judge in Waco on Wednesday ruled Midland City Council member Bill Dingus is ineligible to challenge Craddick for the Texas House seat.
The judge says Dingus didn't resign his city council seat before filing his candidacy for the Legislature.
U.S. District Judge Walter Smith dismissed a lawsuit filed against the Republican Party of Texas over the eligibility of Dingus.
The suit was filed by the Texas Democratic Party in January in Midland, but was later transferred to the federal judge in Waco.
Craddick has held the Midland seat since 1969. The 150-member chamber elects their leader to two-year terms when the convene every other January.
