You can be forgiven if you’ve never heard of the most powerful unelected man in Texas politics. Steve McCraw, the longtime director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, is not exactly a household name. And even his legions of fans and critics at the Capitol routinely botch his name, calling him Steve McGraw. Yet McCraw, who abruptly announced last week that he would retire by the end of the year, has changed Texas government and politics far more than most of the elected officials he theoretically answers to. He is the J. Edgar Hoover of Texas—a lawman-politician whose power grew alongside his longevity and usefulness to the Republican Party. And like Hoover, he seems preternaturally gifted at escaping accountability. Over time, he became too…
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