Drama intensifies in speaker races as GOP remains split on who should run the Texas House

(This story has been updated to include more information.)

In a dizzying twist of weekend events, the race for Texas House speaker amplified the chasm in the Republican ranks as one candidate touted the support of most members in his party and the other boasted a bipartisan coalition for governing the Legislature's lower chamber when lawmakers return to Austin for the 2025 session.

After a round-robin vote during an an hourslong closed door meeting Saturday, two-term state Rep. David Cook of Mansfield emerged as the GOP caucus favorite even as he acknowledged to reporters that he had yet to muster the 76 votes needed to be elevated to the speaker's rostrum in the 150-member House.

In a news conference just minutes later, 10-year House veteran Dustin Burrows confidently said he had assembled a governing majority and that he had a locked grip on the speaker's gavel.

"I think it's customary to announce that the speaker is over," Burrows told reporters in a room just off the House chamber. "I have secured the votes of enough of my colleagues."

But not long after he released a list with names of 38 Republicans and 38 Democrats who will take their oaths of office Jan. 14 and vote for the successor to current Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, several members said Burrows' boast was premature.

“I stand firm with my conservative colleagues — my vote for speaker is with David Cook,” incoming Republican freshman Don McLaughlin of Uvalde said in a statement. “Any claim that I support Dustin Burrows is pure deception.”

Democratic Rep. Josey Garcia also said her name should not have been on Burrows' list.

Burrows' campaign did not respond to a question late Saturday about whether his numbers would hold. But in a social media post Sunday morning, he gave no signal that his confidence had been shaken.

"Deeply honored and humbled by the confidence my colleagues have placed in me to lead the Texas House as Speaker," Burrows said in the post. "I’m committed to ensuring the House remains a deliberative body rooted in integrity, transparency, and accountability — one where every member can represent their districts free from threats and intimidation."

Cook, whose list contains the names of 56 Republicans, emerged as the GOP's top alternative to Phelan, who had chafed some of his party for awarding committee chairmanships to Democrats. By doing so, the speaker had followed a decades-long House tradition of bipartisan governance in which the majority power allows its counterpart at least a handful of chairmanships.

More: Dade Phelan's reluctant relinquishment of Texas House speakership is part of a pattern

Cook has vowed to end that tradition. His party has been in control of the House for 22 years and will enter 2025 with a solid 26-member advantage. But to gain power, Cook will need 20 more votes than he had secured by Saturday.

Burrows was an ally and top lieutenant for Phelan, the focal point of a conservative insurrection whose center of gravity was actually outside of the House itself. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the Senate's president, and later Attorney General Ken Paxton had targeted Phelan for defeat in his own primary this year and campaigned for Republican House candidates who would pledge not to support the sitting speaker.

On social media, Patrick predicted Cook would prevail.

"Congratulations to @DavidCookTexas, who was selected as the @TXGOPCaucus nominee. Cook and his supporters did this the right way," Patrick said on X. "His vote count continues to climb,"

And just as was the case during Phelan's path to House leadership over the past two sessions, Burrows' road will travel through the heart of Democratic territory. While Republicans were meeting in the Capitol, House Democrats were gathering virtually to chart their own course ahead of the session.

In a statement, the Democratic Caucus said it had "extensive meetings" with Burrows but offered no details about what was said in those discussions. The statement did not contain a formal endorsement but said only that members were free to back any Republican speaker candidate they chose to, with the exception of Cook. About two dozen of the 62 Democratic House members were not on Burrows' list.

"Democrats will help govern in a bipartisan Texas House that recognizes traditional institutional norms," the caucus said in an unsigned statement. "Democrats have been assured that the bipartisan traditions of the Texas House will continue."

The statement did not say whether Burrows had pledged to continue the House tradition of allowing the minority party to chair at least some committees, and Burrows himself would not address questions on the topic.

Speaking to reporters before Burrows made his announcement, Cook acknowledged he was well short of the 76-vote threshold needed to win the speakership. He said he'd spend the weeks ahead trying to add to his coalition and would welcome the votes of Burrows supporters and even those of Democrats.

"This race is not over," Cook said.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Burrows says he has the votes to become speaker but GOP is divided.