Two Democrats are competing to lead the newly Democratic Texas House: state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the chamber's longest-serving Democrat, and Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass. The race could turn on how many Republicans cross over.
Thompson launched her bid Tuesday night, before the House had officially flipped. By Thursday, someone in her camp was claiming as many as 65 members ready to support her, according to a Republican lawmaker who was contacted by her vote counters. That lawmaker said at least five of her backers are Republicans.
Winning the gavel takes 76 votes. If Thompson reaches that number before the session opens Jan. 12, she can lock up the job before the Legislature convenes. She scheduled a press conference for 2 p.m. Friday.
She picked up a notable endorsement Thursday evening from Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso, a Democrat who worked closely with Republican House leadership in past sessions.
Morales entered the race Thursday afternoon, pledging in a statement that every member's district would have a voice if he became speaker. Some Democrats think he could give Thompson a real contest, because border Democrats tend to be more moderate and could attract Republicans now relegated to the minority.
Republicans weigh a coalition
The maneuvering started quickly. On Wednesday night, roughly 25 Democrats, most of them members of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, met to discuss what they want in a speaker, according to two attendees, though no candidates were named. The full House Democratic Caucus met afterward.
Republicans held their own talks. Two GOP staffers said a group of Republican House members met on Zoom to consider backing a Democrat as part of a power-sharing coalition. Another Republican said Morales and Rep. Oscar Longoria of Mission had asked them to hold off committing while the race took shape. Longoria and Thompson both ran for speaker in 2020, when Democrats fell short of flipping the House.
The math is tight for any coalition. Democrats expect an 83-67 or 84-66 majority, so a challenger with 20 Democratic votes would need 56 Republicans. Roughly two dozen GOP hardliners, plus moderates facing tough primaries, make that difficult. Rep. Brent Money of Greenville wrote on X that he would not vote for a Democratic speaker under any scenario.
Thompson may also draw Republican support. Rep. J.M. Lozano of Kingsville, who switched parties in 2012, praised her Wednesday as the kind of leader the chamber needs to heal.
We need someone like that to get us through this tumultuous chapter to heal
J.M. Lozano, Republican state representative from Kingsville
A historic candidacy
Thompson, first elected in 1972, is the longest-serving woman and Black lawmaker in Texas history. Her pitch rests on seniority, much as Republican Tom Craddick won the speakership in 2002 as his caucus's longest-serving member when the GOP took the House.
Texas has never had a woman as House speaker. A Thompson win would put three women of different ethnic backgrounds in the state's top posts, alongside Gov. Gina Hinojosa and Lt. Gov. Vikki Goodwin.
At least two staffers have suggested her age could hurt her. Thompson will turn 88 before the session begins, and the job demands long hours and heavy fundraising travel. That matters as Democrats try to defend a majority that, while their largest since 1993, includes several seats won by only a few hundred votes.
Also unresolved is whether the next speaker will keep the House's bipartisan traditions or retaliate after freshman Republicans pushed last year to bar Democrats from committee chairmanships. One Democratic staffer said they would happily keep the rules Republicans adopted.
