Drew Alan Springer Jr. (born October 27, 1966) is an American businessman and politician who represented
District 30 in the
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas.
The Senate ...
as a
Republican from 2021 until 2025.
Springer announced on November 7, 2023 that he would not seek re-election in 2024 and would spend more time focused on managing the family money management firm.
Education
Springer graduated from
Weatherford High School in 1985. He then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...
.
Career
A businessman, Springer is a former controller of a railcar company. He thereafter was a manager of three companies with a total of more than 1,000 employees. In 2005, he joined his father in business in the financial services industry.
Springer was first elected in 2012 when the incumbent Republican,
Rick Hardcastle of Vernon, stepped down after fourteen years in office
[ because of ]multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...
. Springer was appointed to the Agriculture and Livestock and the Land and Resource Management committees.[
It initially appeared that Springer had lost the 2012 Republican primary election in a heavily rural district, when his chief opponent, Trent McKnight, finished with 49 percent of the vote.][ However, in the runoff election on July 31, with backing from two eliminated candidates in the primary, Springer topped McKnight, 8,434 (56.4 percent) to 6,521 (43.6 percent). Springer was unopposed in the 2012 general election in his heavily Republican district.
Springer noted that McKnight is a former Democrat who had never voted in a Republican primary election until his own race in 2012. The winner in eighteen of the twenty-two counties, McKnight blamed his loss on a high turnout in Cooke County, where there was also a competitive election for ]sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
, and low participation in the counties in which McKnight led in the primary, despite the high-profile U.S. Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...
primary between David Dewhurst and Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
. In addition to Cooke, Springer won in neighboring Montague as well as Garza and Floyd counties.
Springer represented the district 68th of the Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...
from 2013 to 2021. The district, the second largest in the state in terms of square miles, includes a wide swath of twenty-two counties.
In 2013, Springer joined the large Republican majority in the Texas House in enacting H.B. 2 to restrict abortion. Springer co-sponsored the legislation. The legislation was subsequently struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
in '' Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt''.[Adam Liptak]
Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Abortion Restrictions
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (June 28, 2016).
Personal life
He and his wife, Lydia, who married in 1991, have three children. They reside in Muenster, Texas
Muenster ( ) is a city in western Cooke County, Texas, Cooke County, Texas, United States, along U.S. Route 82 in Texas, U.S. Route 82. The population was 1,536 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Muenster is a primarily German-Texan ci ...
.
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Springer, Drew
1966 births
Living people
Republican Party members of the Texas House of Representatives
Republican Party Texas state senators
Businesspeople from Texas
People from Muenster, Texas
People from Weatherford, Texas
University of North Texas alumni
21st-century members of the Texas Legislature