Joe Straus Emerges As Candidate For Speaker

The so called "Gang of 11", a Republican group opposed to Republican Speaker Tom Craddick, chose state Rep Joe Straus as their consensus candidate to take on the sitting speaker. Straus makes remarks outside the meeting where he was selected. The video is courtesy of Elise Hu, a KVUE Political Reporter.

I consider Rep Straus to be a close friend and half-jokingly call him a South Texas legislator, because part of his district lies on the boundary of cultural South Texas. By his selection this race for speaker has sufficiently narrowed to allow uncommitted members to make their selection. I would look for the other candidates to drop off and consolidate soon. By the end of this weekend we will have a better idea of our speaker for the 81st session.

The Austin American Statesman and the El Paso Times have the story.