Joe Straus
Joe Straus is a centrist Republican state Representative from San Antonio, Texas. He has been Speaker of the Texas State House of Representatives since January 13, 2009 and a state Representative since January 2005. His voting record has included support of pro-choice interests and opposition to free enterprise economics[1].
To win the peakership, Straus, armed with Democratic backing, defeated fellow Republican Tom Craddick of Midland, Texas, the senior member of the state House and its first ever Republican Speaker, having served from 2003 to 2009.
In the final weeks of 2010, a movement developed among some conservative Republican citizens and political figures in Texas to replace Straus as Speaker. State Republican Executive Committee member John Cook wrote in an e-mail to a colleague: "We elected a house with Christian, conservative values. We now want a true Christian, conservative running it." The dissident conservatives stressed that their opposition to Straus is not because the Speaker is Jewish, but that the Speaker should have pro-life, pro-family values.[2].
On January 11, 2011, the Texas House reelected Speaker Straus, 132-15. The dissenters are known by Tea Party activists as the "Texas 15."[3]