35 Facts About Joe Straus

Joseph Richard Straus III was born on September 1,1959 and is an American politician who served as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019.

Joe Straus chose not to seek re-election to the state House in 2018.

Joe Straus is a San Antonio native and a fifth-generation Texan.

Joe Straus's father was a major player in the horseracing business in San Antonio.

Joe Straus was former spokesman for the Retama Development Corporation, a development company that built the Retama Racetrack in San Antonio, which was for betting on horse racing.

Joe Straus has previously served on the Management Committee of the Bexar County Republican Party, as a precinct chairman, and on numerous campaign committees for federal, state, and local candidates.

Joe Straus joined the House after winning a special election to replace District 121 state Representative Elizabeth Ames Jones in 2005.

Joe Straus was renominated to the Texas House in the Republican primary held on May 29,2012.

Joe Straus was again renominated to the Texas House in the Republican primary held on March 4,2014.

Joe Straus received 9,224 votes to 5,842 for Matt Beebe, who again challenged the speaker.

Joe Straus raised $8 million for his 2016 primary contest with Bean and Judson.

Bean and Judson criticized Joe Straus as having been insufficient aggressive in promoting anti-sanctuary cities legislation, abortion restrictions and school vouchers.

Joe Straus said that his record includes improvements in the water infrastructure, transportation, and public and higher education.

Joe Straus easily won the primary, receiving 15,737 votes.

Joe Straus ran without opposition as speaker on January 13,2009, at the beginning of the 81st Texas Legislature.

Joe Straus' election was seen as a defeat for the socially conservative wing of the Republican Party of Texas.

Joe Straus was reelected to a fourth two-year term as speaker six years later on January 13,2015, in the first recorded vote for speaker in forty years.

In January 2013, Joe Straus faced intraparty conservative opposition for a third term as speaker from Representative David Simpson of Longview.

However, Simpson withdrew before the balloting for speaker began, and Joe Straus was reelected without opposition on January 8,2013.

In January 2015, Joe Straus was challenged again as speaker by Representative Scott Turner, an African American from Frisco.

Joe Straus has led the effort to make the state budget more transparent.

Joe Straus led the public campaign to approve funding for the water plan, which 73 percent of Texas voters supported in November 2013.

Joe Straus has declined to support the anti-transgender bathroom bill, which was introduced by Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham and endorsed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

Joe Straus said the measure was not a priority for him.

Patrick opposed a school finance bill supported by Joe Straus, fearing that the costs could lead to a state income tax to meet the extra obligations.

In October 2017, Joe Straus announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018.

Joe Straus was described by the New York Times in 2009 as a centrist fiscal conservative and "country club Republican" who was telegenic and urbane from the upscale suburb of Alamo Heights.

Joe Straus has done an admirable job managing the House since 2009, and he provides crucial leadership on important San Antonio issues.

In October 2017, Joe Straus announced that he would not run for re-election.

Joe Straus "delivered a plea that Republicans 'appeal to our diverse population with an optimistic vision'" when he announced he would not be running again.

Shortly after the 2018 midterm elections, Joe Straus criticized Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick and other Republicans for adopting positions too far to the right, though Patrick responded by questioning Joe Straus's status as a conservative and a Republican.

In mid-2019, Straus established a new political action committee, Texas Forever Forward, saying it would "promote a thoughtful, conservative approach to governing"; Straus is chairman of the PAC, and Wallace B Jefferson, a former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court, is the treasurer.

In 2020, Joe Straus wrote an op-ed for the San Antonio Express-News expressing support for Medicaid expansion, writing that this would bolster the economy and businesses.

Joe Straus is a lifelong member of Temple Beth El, a Reform synagogue in San Antonio, where his grandfather served as the synagogue's president.

Joe Straus rarely spoke of his faith, describing it as a "personal thing" for him and his family.