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'''Joseph R. "Joe" Straus, III''' (born September 1, 1959), is a [[Moderate Republican]] state representative from [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], who has been since January 2009 the [[Speaker]] of the Texas House of Representatives. He was initially elected to the House in a special election held in January 2005 to succeed Elizabeth Ames Jones, who resigned to join the [[Texas Railroad Commission]], a post she has since vacated. A youthful admirer of the late [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Tower]], for whom he was once a part-time chauffeur, Straus has, like Tower, supported [[pro-choice]] interests. His critics claim that he has also undermined [[free enterprise]] economics,<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=49917</ref> but he contends that he has been a champion for economic development.

'''Joseph Richard Straus, III''', known as '''Joe Straus''' (born September 1, 1959), is a [[Moderate Republican]] state representative from [[San Antonio]], [[Texas]], who has been since January 2009 the [[Speaker]] of the Texas House of Representatives. He was initially elected to the House in a special election held in January 2005 to succeed Elizabeth Ames Jones, who resigned to join the [[Texas Railroad Commission]], a post she has since vacated. A youthful admirer of the late [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Tower]], for whom he was once a part-time chauffeur, Straus has, like Tower, supported [[pro-choice]] interests. His critics claim that he has also undermined [[free enterprise]] economics,<ref>http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=49917</ref> but he contends that he has been a champion for economic development.

To win the Speakership, Straus, armed with [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] backing, unseated fellow Republican [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland]], Texas, the senior member of the state House and its first ever Republican Speaker, a post that he held from 2003 to 2009.

To win the Speakership, Straus, armed with [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] backing, unseated fellow Republican [[Tom Craddick]] of [[Midland]], Texas, the senior member of the state House and its first ever Republican Speaker, a post that he held from 2003 to 2009.

On January 11, 2011, the Texas House nevertheless reelected Speaker Straus, 132-15. The dissenters, including [[Bryan Hughes]] of Mineola, [[Warren Chisum]] of Pampa, and [[Ken Paxton]] of McKinney, Texas (who in 2015 became the Texas attorney general), have been termed by [[Tea Party]] activists as the "Texas 15."<ref>http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/tea-party-adherents-hail-the-t.html</ref>

On January 11, 2011, the Texas House nevertheless reelected Speaker Straus, 132-15. The dissenters, including [[Bryan Hughes]] of Mineola, [[Warren Chisum]] of Pampa, and [[Ken Paxton]] of McKinney, Texas (who in 2015 became the Texas attorney general), have been termed by [[Tea Party]] activists as the "Texas 15."<ref>http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/tea-party-adherents-hail-the-t.html</ref>

On October 24, 2017, Straus announced that he will not seek reelection in 2018 to the state House and hence will vacate the Speaker's office. He said that his record five terms in the office has been a resounding success. No opponent had declared intentions to oppose Straus in the Republican primary scheduled for March 6, 2018. Already in the running for the Speakership are John Zerwas, a Straus loyalist from Richmond, Texas, and state Representative Phillip Stephen "Phil" King of Weatherford in Parker County, first elected in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/09/22/weatherford-lawmaker-phil-king-announces-bid-texas-house-speaker|title=Weatherford lawmaker Phil King announces bid for Texas House Speaker|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|author=Gromer Jeffers, Jr.|date=September 22, 2017|accessdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref> A question remains as to whether the Speaker will continue to be elected by the whole membership, which can allow a Democrat-Moderate Republican majority to prevail as with Straus, or only the majority party, which would give a conservative candidate, such as King, the advantage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2017/10/25/speaker-house-joe-straus-wont-seek-reelection/|title=Texas House Speaker Joe Straus says he will not seek re-election: Straus, a San Antonio Republican, announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election. He did not rule out running for higher office|author=Matthew Watkins|publisher=''The Texas Tribune''|date=October 25, 2017|accessdate=October 26, 2017}}</ref> Also bowing out in 2018 from the Texas House is a Straus lieutenant, [[Byron Cook]] of Corsicana in Navarro County in north central Texas who barely won re-nomination over a conservative challenger in 2016. 

On October 24, 2017, Straus announced that he will not seek reelection in 2018 to the state House and hence will vacate the Speaker's office. He said that his record five terms in the office has been a resounding success. No opponent had declared intentions to oppose Straus in the Republican primary scheduled for March 6, 2018. Already in the running for the Speakership are John Zerwas, a Straus loyalist from Richmond, Texas, and state Representative Phillip Stephen "Phil" King of Weatherford in Parker County, first elected in 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2017/09/22/weatherford-lawmaker-phil-king-announces-bid-texas-house-speaker|title=Weatherford lawmaker Phil King announces bid for Texas House Speaker|publisher=''Dallas Morning News''|author=Gromer Jeffers, Jr.|date=September 22, 2017|accessdate=September 27, 2017}}</ref> A question remains as to whether the Speaker will continue to be elected by the whole membership, which can allow a Democrat-Moderate Republican majority to prevail as with Straus, or only the majority party, which would give a conservative candidate, such as King, the advantage.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2017/10/25/speaker-house-joe-straus-wont-seek-reelection/|title=Texas House Speaker Joe Straus says he will not seek re-election: Straus, a San Antonio Republican, announced Wednesday he will not run for re-election. He did not rule out running for higher office|author=Matthew Watkins|publisher=''The Texas Tribune''|date=October 25, 2017|accessdate=October 26, 2017}}</ref> Also bowing out in 2018 after eight terms in the Texas House is a Straus lieutenant, [[Byron Cook]] of Corsicana in Navarro County in north central Texas, who barely won re-nomination over a conservative challenger in 2016. Cook played the leading role in killing the bathroom legislation in 2017 by keeping the bill from obtaining a committee vote.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kxan.com/2017/10/25/rep-byron-cook-wont-seek-re-election/|title=Rep. Byron Cook won't see reelection|publisher=KXAN.com|accessdate=October 26, 2017}}</ref>