Lawmaker Pulls Support for Speaker

AUSTIN (AP) — A Wood County Republican has withdrawn his support for Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, saying that Straus allies have been threatening to use redistricting to punish his political adversaries. Representative Bryan Hughes of Mineola is one of 76 Republicans on a list of supporters Straus released last week, saying he had enough pledges of support to be elected to another term as speaker.

But in a statement Wednesday, Hughes said he wouldn’t support Straus for another term because of threats of retribution by “a member of Speaker Straus’s leadership team.” Hughes said the conversation “saddened and then disgusted” him. Straus is a moderate San Antonio Republican being challenged by Rep. Warren Chisum, a more conservative Republican from Pampa who has spearheaded a movement to pressure conservatives into opposing Straus.