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

A Republican, he represented District 121, which comprises northeastern Bexar County, including parts of San Antonio and several surrounding communities, from his first election to the House in 2005 until his retirement in 2019.

[1][2] During his career in the state House, Straus was a moderate,[3] "business-friendly, country club Republican"[4] who sometimes clashed with the party's social conservative wing.

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

[13] Two Tea Party movement candidates, Shelia Vernette Bean and former Olmos Park City Council member Jeff M. Judson, challenged Straus in the primary election on March 1, 2016.

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

[17] Straus was endorsed by the San Antonio Express-News, which hailed him as a "decent, effective leader [who] has focused on solving major problems that face the state, such as ... transportation and water" and noted that he successfully pushed to passage "conservative issues "on many fronts", including tough abortion restrictions, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the state's voter identification law.

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

Simpson entered the race for speaker in December 2012, after Straus' previous opponent, conservative Bryan Hughes of Mineola, withdrew from the contest after nearly six months of seeking commitments from colleagues.

[31] Rep. Todd Ames Hunter, a Republican from Corpus Christi, pointed to Straus' even-handed approach to leadership as the reason for his success in keeping the gavel.

In July 2012, he called on the House Appropriations Committee to begin reducing the amount of money that had collected in General Revenue-Dedicated balances – an accounting technique that legislators and governors increasingly used over 20 years to get the budget certified.

[36] Perhaps Straus' greatest accomplishment was leading the House, along with Chairman Allan Ritter, to make a historic investment in the state's water needs in 2013.

The legislature approved, and then-Governor Rick Perry signed, legislation that created a revolving loan fund to pay for water supply and conservation projects around the state.

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

[37] Straus announced his opposition to President Donald Trump's travel ban against seven predominantly Muslim nations, saying "I am concerned about sending the incorrect message that we are at war with any religion."

Straus has declined to support the anti-transgender bathroom bill (SB 6), which was introduced by Republican state Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham and endorsed by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick.

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

[1] 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.

"[54] Straus's opponents for the speakership, Ken Paxton (later the Attorney General of Texas) and Warren Chisum, are Christians; both condemned the comments.

[55] John Cook, author of some of the e-mails, said that, "When I got involved in politics, I told people I wanted to put Christian conservatives in leadership positions" but denied allegations of antisemitism.

[5] In 2020, 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.

Straus jointed with prominent Texas Republican elections lawyer Ben Ginsberg to file an amicus brief opposing the plaintiffs' claims; in a statement, Straus called the effort to invalidate votes "patently wrong" and that "the Republican Party needs to return to a place where we win with ideas and persuasion rather than trying to intimidate and silence our fellow citizens.