Changes

==Political activities==

==Political activities==

As Republican state chairman, he was automatically a member of the [[Republican National Committee]] during the administration of [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]]. In 1978, Strake served as state chairman of the Clements for Governor Committee. Clements won a narrow victory over former Texas Secretary of State and Attorney Genera] [[John Luke Hill]] and became the first Republican Governor elected in Texas in more than a century. Strake was an alternate delegate to the 1976 [[Republican National Convention]] in [[Kansas City]],  [[Missouri]], in which all ninety-six Texas delegates were pledged to Reagan, narrowly defeated by the party nominee, President [[Gerald Ford]], who then lost Texas to Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]]. Strake served as Texas Secretary of State from 1979 to 1981 and ran unsuccessfully for Texas Lieutenant Governor against [[Bill Hobby]] in 1982, the last year thus far that Texas Democrats swept all statewide elections, including judgeships.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Mayor [[Ernest Angelo, Jr.]], of Midland and the 96-0 Reagan Sweep of Texas, May 1, 1976," ''[[West Texas Historical Association]] Yearbook'' Vol. 86 (2010), p. 82.</ref>

As Republican state chairman, he was automatically a member of the [[Republican National Committee]] during the administration of [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald W. Reagan]]. In 1978, Strake served as state chairman of the Clements for Governor Committee. Clements won a narrow victory over former Texas Secretary of State and Attorney General [[John Hill]] and became the first Republican Governor elected in Texas in more than a century. Strake was an alternate delegate to the 1976 [[Republican National Convention]] in [[Kansas City]],  [[Missouri]], in which all ninety-six Texas delegates were pledged to Reagan, narrowly defeated by the party nominee, President [[Gerald Ford]], who then lost Texas to Democrat [[Jimmy Carter]]. Strake served as Texas Secretary of State from 1979 to 1981 and ran unsuccessfully for Texas Lieutenant Governor against Bill Hobby in 1982, the last year thus far that Texas Democrats swept all statewide elections, including judgeships.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "Mayor [[Ernest Angelo, Jr.]], of Midland and the 96-0 Reagan Sweep of Texas, May 1, 1976," ''[[West Texas Historical Association]] Yearbook'' Vol. 86 (2010), p. 82.</ref>

Strake was the chairman of the state Republican chairman from 1983 to 1988. He was an alternate delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, at which President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] was nominated for a second term, for which he was defeated by the Democrat [[Bill Clinton]]. Strake had also been a delegate to the Reagan-Bush conventions in 1984 and 1988 in [[Dallas]] and [[New Orleans]], respectively. Strake is listed in the 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1993 editions of ''Who's Who in American Politics''. In 1989, he was appointed by Clements in the latter’s second nonconsecutive term as governor to serve as a member of the Task Force on Public Education.<ref name=txnp/> He has also served on the boards of the Bob Bullock Texas State Museum  and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, both in [[Austin]].

Strake was the chairman of the state Republican chairman from 1983 to 1988. He was an alternate delegate to the 1992 Republican National Convention in Houston, at which President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] was nominated for a second term, for which he was defeated by the Democrat [[Bill Clinton]]. Strake had also been a delegate to the Reagan-Bush conventions in 1984 and 1988 in [[Dallas]] and [[New Orleans]], respectively. Strake is listed in the 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1993 editions of ''Who's Who in American Politics''. In 1989, he was appointed by Clements in the latter’s second nonconsecutive term as governor to serve as a member of the Task Force on Public Education.<ref name=txnp/> He has also served on the boards of the Bob Bullock Texas State Museum  and the Texas Public Policy Foundation, both in [[Austin]].