in the 1980 general election, martin, who then listed his occupation as a carpenter, unseated democratic state representative james e. mankins, who was considered a prime possibility to become speaker of the texas house of representatives. in the 1981 house session, martin offered one bill, which never came to a vote, a proposal to require the teaching of creationism along with the theory of evolution in public school science classes. he was named as one of the "ten worst legislators" by "texas monthly" magazine.