Joseph Edward Moody (born January 9, 1981) is a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

from

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, who serves as Speaker Pro Tempore 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 ...

. He has represented District 78, based entirely in El Paso County, since 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Moody previously represented District 78 for the single term from 2009 to 2011. In 2012, he unseated the Republican Dee Margo,

Mayor of El Paso In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

from 2017 to 2021. Moody defeated Margo in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

s of both 2008 and 2012, but Margo prevailed in the 2010 contest, with lowered turnout in a mid-term election. Moody won his fifth nonconsecutive term in the House in the general election held on November 6, 2018. With 31,361 votes (65.2 percent) and buoyed by the

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 ...

candidacy of

Beto O'Rourke Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke ( , ; ; born September 26, 1972) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States) ...

, also an El Paso native, Moody overwhelmed the Republican candidate, Jeffrey Lane, who finished with 16,741 votes (34.8 percent). Moody previously served as Speaker Pro Tempore in the 86th and 87th Legislatures but was removed from the position by Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan on July 15, 2021, after Moody and other Democrats left the state in protest of Republican legislation on July 12, 2021, Texas House Speaker

Dade Phelan Matthew McDade Phelan (born September 18, 1975) is an American real estate developer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he serves in Texas House of Representatives representing District 21, which includes most of Jefferson and ...

removed Moody from the Speaker Pro Tempore position during the 87th Legislature.Garrett, Robert T
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan strips absent Democratic ally of chamber’s No. 2 post
''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'', July 15, 2021. He was reappointed to the role on February 25, 2025 by Speaker

Dustin Burrows Dustin Ray Burrows (born November 14, 1978) is an American attorney and businessman who has served as the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, he has represented the 83rd district in the Te ...

References

External links

*
Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Legislative page
, - 1981 births 21st-century members of the Texas Legislature Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Living people New Mexico State University alumni Politicians from El Paso, Texas Texas lawyers Texas Tech University alumni {{Texas-politician-stub