The largest county’s Republican Party is urging two of its local lawmakers to support State Rep. David Cook for Speaker of the House and to reject State Rep. Dustin Burrows’ attempt to secure the position by courting Democratic votes.
A resolution passed at Monday night’s meeting of the Harris County GOP was initially aimed at four lawmakers who were on Burrows’ original list of supporters: State Reps. Lacey Hull, Sam Harless, Charles Cunningham, and Mano DeAyala.
However, during the meeting, Cunningham and DeAyala’s names were removed from the resolution after both reportedly agreed to back the nominee chosen by the Republican Caucus—Cook.
The remaining five Republican members from Harris County have already pledged their support for Cook.
The Republican Party of Texas has warned that members who do not support Cook could face censure, which may result in removal from the ballot.
Cunningham and DeAyala are just the latest members to drop off Burrow’s original supporters list, which is currently less than a majority of members and consists of more Democrats than Republicans. A majority of the Republican Caucus has agreed to support Cook for the position when the official vote takes place on January 14.