The ever-shifting landscape of the race for Speaker of the House had its most recent shift Friday evening, as challenger David Cook released a list of 48 Republican colleagues who he says are “committed to his candidacy” over current Speaker Dade Phelan.
Two members are listed as “anonymous,” while Cook noted “several others have expressed commitment to reform, but chose to wait until after their November election.”
State Representative David Cook Announces Support of 48 Republican Colleagues in Bid for Texas House Speakership pic.twitter.com/Kscibkg0Vr
— David Cook (@DavidCookTexas) September 27, 2024
While it remains to be seen whether some candidates on that list, such as Steve Kinard and Don McLaughlin, will be successful in their bids to flip currently Democrat-held districts, the number makes up a majority of Republicans with or without them, as there are currently 86 Republicans in the Texas House.
The field of challengers to Phelan narrowed from five members down to Cook, a state representative from Mansfield, after a private meeting earlier this month held by this same group of members.
Following the secret meeting to pick Cook as the challenger to Phelan, he said in a statement that he had “the clear majority votes needed to be the Speaker today, and will have the clear majority support needed to become Speaker again come January.”
If this group of “reformers” sticks together or grows through January, Dade Phelan will need Democrat votes to become speaker again (which is accomplished by gaining the votes of 76 of 150 members.)
The outsized influence of Democrats on the speaker race and the legislative agenda of the House has been a motivating factor in the movement to oust Phelan, with Cook promising to end the practice of awarding Democrat chairmanships and to work more quickly to pass Republican priorities.
With the window for Phelan to secure a majority of his Republican colleagues significantly narrowing, Phelan’s path to the speakership currently rests on Democrats and a minority of Republicans teaming together.
Adding to that difficulty, Democrats already have one candidate of their own running for speaker—State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos. If she maintains her candidacy through the vote for Speaker on January 14, Phelan will need even more Republican defectors to join him.