He would replace Rep. Stephanie Klick (R-Fort Worth), who confirmed she will not seek another term as chair.
In his post announcing his candidacy, Krause put openness and efficiency at the center of his strategy as hopeful chair.
“I believe our Caucus should come up with a list of priorities before the session even starts. And we should work diligently and doggedly to get those bills passed out of the House from the beginning of the session… We have seen way too many good bills die because the clock ran out,” Krause wrote.
“It will also help to have regular and open communication with our grassroots folks… They (and others around the state) deserve to know what is going on with the priority bills and their status. I am committed to making sure that communication takes place.”
Krause also gave a diplomatic but distant nod to presumptive Speaker of the Texas House Dade Phelan (R-Orange), saying “[Republican] priorities should not be dictated by the Speaker’s office… I appreciate soon-to-be Speaker Phelan’s mindset here as he has stated the same philosophy.”
Klick replaced former GOP Caucus Chair Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) last year shortly after his role in a political scandal alongside outgoing Texas Speaker Dennis Bonnen (R-Angleton) came to light. Burrows cooperated in giving conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan a list of 10 Republican state representatives to target, a bombshell revelation further complicated by a bylaw preventing the chair from campaigning against a fellow GOP incumbent.
A member of the Texas Freedom Caucus, Krause is the 13th most conservative member of the chamber according to the ranking of Rice University fellow Mark P. Jones, right below Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R-Fredericksburg) and above Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano). Texans for Fiscal Responsibility’s Fiscal Index gives Krause a score of 78 out of 100 but an A grade for his career overall in the Fiscal Responsibility Index.
Jones ranks outgoing chair Klick the 51st most conservative member of the Texas House, just below the ideological median of the party. Klick’s career score on the Fiscal Responsibility Index is B-, with a current rating of 56 out of 100.
Correction: A previous version of the article incorrectly stated that Texas Scorecard was responsible for the Fiscal Responsibility Index legislative rankings.
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