Sources Say Straus Will Enter Speaker’s Race This Week
Vince Leibowitz | Dec 14, 2008 | Comments 0
State Rep. Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) could announce his plans to run for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives as early as Monday, sources familiar with the race tell Capitol Annex.
Straus, who represents Northeast San Antonio–including the tony Alamo Heights community–has only served in the Texas Legislature since 2005, when he defeated former Texas Supreme Court Justice Rose Spector in a runoff to assume the seat formerly held by Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones.
Considered a social moderate in a chamber filled to the brim with ultra-conservatives, Straus would be a unique candidate.
For one thing, Straus is independently wealthy. As a result, he wouldn’t be subject to the whims and fancies of many prominent Republican donors. And, if rumors are true that Straus plans to run for the Texas Senate seat currently held by Jeff Wentworth after redistricting in 2012, he would essentially be term limited.
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Filed Under: 2009 Speaker's Race • 81st Texas Legislature
