Patrick Michael Rose was a Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 politician, who served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

 from House District 45 http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/pdf/districts/45.pdf which comprises Blanco

Blanco County, Texas

Blanco County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2010, the population is 10,497. Its county seat is Johnson City. Blanco is named for the Blanco River which traverses the county. The State of Texas formed Blanco County in 1858 from portions of Burnet,...

, Caldwell

Caldwell County, Texas

Caldwell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area. In 2000, the population was 32,194. Its county seat is Lockhart...

 and Hays

Hays County, Texas

Hays County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its official population had reached 157,107. It is named for John Coffee Hays, a Texas Ranger and Mexican-American War officer. The seat of the county is San Marcos....

 counties in Central Texas from 2002–2010

Rose was born in Travis County

Travis County, Texas

As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to Kenneth Michael Rose and Bonnie Mae Barton.

When elected in 2002, Rose was the youngest member of the Texas House of Representatives

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

. He was educated at Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, earning a bachelor's degree with high honors, and The University of Texas

University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...

, earning a law degree. Rose practiced law with the Ratliff firm in Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 before opening his own law firm in San Marcos

San Marcos, Texas

San Marcos is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is the seat of Hays County. Located within the metropolitan area, the city is located on the Interstate 35 corridor—between Austin and San Antonio....

.

Rose won in 2002 by defeating the Republican incumbent, Rick Green

Rick Green (Texas politician)

Richard Arlin Green, known as Rick Green , is an attorney and politician from Dripping Springs in Hays County, Texas, who is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives...

 of Dripping Springs

Dripping Springs, Texas

Dripping Springs is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,548 at the 2000 census; it was 1,828 in the 2008 census estimate....

, by less than 1 percent of all votes cast. The film "Last Man Standing: Politics Texas Style" (2004) http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2004/lastmanstanding/ chronicles Rose's campaign and come-from-behind victory. Rose was twenty-four at the time of his election in November 2002; Green, thirty-two.

Rose was named to the chairmanship of the House Human Services Committee for the 2007-2008 biennium after he supported Republican Tom Craddick

Tom Craddick

Thomas Russell Craddick, known as Tom Craddick , was 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...

 (R-Midland

Midland, Texas

Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Texas, United States, on the Southern Plains of the state's western area. A small portion of the city extends into Martin County. As of 2010, the population of Midland was 111,147. It is the principal city of the Midland, Texas...

) for election to a third term as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives

The Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the House...

. He was reappointed as chair of the Human Services Committee for the 2009-2010 session by Speaker Joe Straus

Joe Straus

Joseph R. Straus, III, known as Joe Straus , is the current Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. He represents District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, including part of San Antonio, Texas, and several surrounding communities...

 (R-San Antonio).

Elections

In 2002, Rose defeated incumbent Republican State Representative Rick Green (who refers to himself as a "Patriot"), by a margin of 48.81% to 47.93%, with 3.24% going to Green Party candidate John D. Schmidt.

In 2004, Rose defeated Republican challenger Alan Askew by a much more comfortable margin of 54.56% to 45.43%.

In 2006, Rose defeated Republican Jim Neuhaus by a large margin of 60.12% to 35.83% with 4.04% going to Libertarian candidate Tom Gleinser.

In 2008, Rose defeated Republican Matt Young by a margin 59.30% to 37.43% with 3.25% going to Libertarian Tom Gleinser.

In 2010, Rose was defeated by Republican Jason Isaac by a margin of 46.09% to 53.90%.