Rep. Straus: Barring an anvil falling, the new speaker

With the official tally for Rep. Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, for speaker at 99 pledged votes, Reps. Dan Gattis, R-Georgetown, and John Smithee, R-Amarillo, have released this joint statement:

It has become apparent in the last 12 hours that Rep. Straus carries enough votes to become the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, and that any effort to challenge him is not in the best interest of the Texas House. As a result we are both withdrawing our candidacies for speaker. Our priority is to take the focus off speaker politics and concentrate on how we can best serve the people of Texas in the 81st Legislature.

UPDATE: Straus himself quickly issued a press release of his own, praising Smithee who had become the nearest thing he had to a challenger.

“John Smithee is my friend and a highly respected leader in the House. I appreciated his courteous phone call moments ago and notification of his withdrawal. John’s difficult decision and gracious gesture is another step towards unity in the House.”

So, there you go. As of Jan. 13 and barring any disasters, it will be Speaker Joe Straus.

This article appears in 2008.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.