Nathaniel Willis "Tan" Parker IV (born May 22, 1971) is a
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
man and
Republican politician who has served in the
Texas Senate, representing the
12th district since 2023. He served in the
Texas House of Representatives from 2007 to 2023. He was elected in 2006 to represent
District 63. Parker sought the position of
Texas House Speaker with the retirement of
Joe Straus but then withdrew his candidacy in 2018 to support the consensus choice, Representative
Dennis Bonnen of
Angleton in
Brazoria County. As of 2022, Parker was elected to represent Senate District 12, and will continue his public service as a State Senator.
Background
Parker was educated at the
University of Dallas, at which he served in the College Republicans Club. He earned a
Bachelor of Arts degree in
political philosophy and Economics in 1993. In 1992 he worked briefly in the White House of George H. W. Bush. He later earned a
Master's Degree from the
London School of Economics.
Parker serves on several board of directors and advisory councils, including the University of Dallas, Communities in Schools North Texas, the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton County, and Kyle’s Place, an emerging shelter project for homeless teens.
Parker resides in
Flower Mound with his wife of over 20 years, Beth Haugan Parker, who he met while a student at the University of Dallas. The Parkers have two daughters, Lauren and Ashley.
Political career
In 2006, Parker first ran for state office when his predecessor, Mary C. Denny, vacated the seat for
House District 63. He faced four opponents in the Republican
primary election
Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...
, including
Lewisville ISD board president Anne Lakusta, who received the endorsement of the ''
Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
''. Parker garnered the most votes in the primary but needed a runoff to defeat Lakusta. No other party fielded a candidate in the general election, so Parker's runoff election win earned him the seat.
In 2008, Parker faced two candidates,
Democrat Jesus Carrillo and
Libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
candidate John Turner. He defeated both with 64,048 votes (72.97 percent) to Carrillo's 19,883 (22.65 percent) and Turner's 3,831 (4.36 percent).
In 2010, he was unopposed in both the Republican primary and the general election.
In 2012, Parker ran unopposed in the Republican primary election and defeated Bruce Hermann
Libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.
In 2014, he ran unopposed in the Republican primary election. He faced
Democrat Daniel Moran in the general election and defeated Moran with 30,809 votes (77.3%) to Moran's 9,026 (22.7%).
In 2015, Parker's colleagues elected him the Chairman of the House Republican Caucus and he was chosen later that year as the best legislator by Texas Monthly magazine.
On March 1, 2016, he once again won the Republican primary election for House
District 63. Parker is currently serving his sixth term in the
Texas House of Representatives.
Upon entering the 85th Legislative Session, Parker was unanimously re-elected as the chairman of the House Republican Caucus, which represents the Republican members of the Texas House by supplying its members with policy development and other crucial support services.
On March 8, 2018, Parker became the third member of the House of Representatives to file for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives to replace Joe Straus, a moderate Republican, who steps down with the regular legislative session in January 2019. He subsequently won reelection on November 6, 52,893 votes (67.2 percent) to 25,852 (32.8 percent) for his Democratic opponent, Laura Haines. Thereafter, he left the speaker's race. His campaign website describes him as an, "Authentic conservative working for HD63."
On July 7, 2021, Parker announced his bid to run for the
Texas Senate, for
District 12 in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. The announcement comes two days after District 12 current Senator
Jane Nelson announced her retirement from the Senate. On March 1, 2022, Parker won the Republican nomination with 53,212 votes (71.07 percent) to 21,657 (28.93 percent) for Chris Russell Parker won the
2022 General Election
The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world.
* 2022 United Nations Security Council election
* 2022 national electoral calendar
* 2022 local ...
against Francine Ly, with a margin of 23-points.
References
External links
Tan Parker's campaign Web siteTexas House of Representatives bio
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Tan
1971 births
21st-century American politicians
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Businesspeople from Texas
Living people
People from Flower Mound, Texas
Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Republican Party Texas state senators
University of Dallas alumni