A campaign official says state Sen. Mario Gallegos Jr. is hospitalized in grave condition near Houston.

Campaign consultant Harold Cook says Gallegos is surrounded by his family, who asked for privacy.

A Democrat, Gallegos has represented Houston's Senate District 6 since 1995. Before that he served two terms in the Texas House.

"Senator Gallegos, a retired Houston firefighter, is a longtime champion of public safety in Texas," said Jeff Caynon of the Houston Firefighters Union #341.  "He and his family, which has a long tradition in the fire service, are in the thoughts and prayers of firefighters in Houston and around the state."

The retired firefighter earned a reputation for toughness in 2007 when he showed up for a critical vote just a few weeks after undergoing a liver transplant. He set up a hospital bed outside the Senate chamber to make sure he could block a bill that would have required a photo ID to vote. The Senate passed the bill four years later.

"They took him out of the sick bed, took him to the Senate floor, and they made a bed for him," said Johnny Mata, former leader and now member of the League of Latin American citizens.  "That took a lot of energy.  But that demonstrates a lot of the commitments."

Gallegos ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but faces Republican R.W. Bray in the November election.