Texas Speaker of House Joe Straus

UPDATE: Reports are also coming in that state Rep. Byron Cook, the Corsicana Republican who chaired the House State Affairs Committee and who also opposed the bathroom bills, will also not run for re-election.
Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus, who played a major role in blocking anti-transgender bathroom bills in the Texas Legislature this year, has just announced that he will not run for re-election.
The San Antonio Republican has served five terms as speaker. But his insistence on blocking certain right-wing efforts have led more than 50 Texas Republican Party county committees to approve resolutions expressing a lack of confidence in Straus and a desire to see the House Republican Caucus replace him in the next session, according to reports by the Austin American-Statesman.
In an email sent out by his campaign, Straus said: “I believe that in a representative democracy, those who serve in public office should do so for a time, not for a lifetime. And so I want you to know that my family and I have decided that I will not run for re-election next year. My time as a state representative and as speaker will end at the conclusion of my current term.”
Cook, who made his announcement just minutes after Straus, said in a statement that he will “pursue other opportunities to serve our great state,” according to Quorum Report.