Dade Phelan drops bid for third term as Texas House speaker
Dade Phelan drops bid for third term as Texas House speaker
    Posted on 12/07/2024
AUSTIN — Speaker Dade Phelan, harried by a long-simmering confrontation with the right wing of his party, said Friday he will not seek a third term as leader of the Texas House.

Phelan, R-Beaumont, was opposed by a majority of House Republicans, including many who will be serving their first term when the Legislature convenes in January, but had insisted for months that he would prevail.

Friday morning, he withdrew, potentially clearing space for a supporter, Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, to replace him in the race for speaker. Burrows filed paperwork to run for speaker Thursday.

Related:Fighting to remain Texas House speaker, Dade Phelan names Rick Perry as senior adviser

Phelan did not endorse a candidate in his withdrawal statement.

“By stepping aside, I believe we create the best opportunity for our members to rally around a new candidate who will uphold the principles that make our House one of the most exceptional, deliberative legislative bodies in the country — a place where honor, integrity, and the right of every member to vote their district takes utmost precedent,” Phelan said.

Related:Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan prevails in close Republican runoff

Phelan said he will remain in the House.

House Republicans are set to meet in private Saturday at the Capitol to select their candidate for speaker. The selection will be made by secret ballot, and the process has been marked by intrigue and infighting as support for Phelan eroded in recent months.

Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, who announced his candidacy for speaker in September, has said he has support from 48 of the 88 House Republicans. That made the math difficult for Phelan, particularly if his path to speaker required support from Democrats – a prospect grassroots Republicans viewed with alarm.

Party rules require a speaker candidate to be supported by two-thirds of the caucus – 59 representatives – in the first two rounds of voting. The threshold drops to 53 supporters, or three-fifths, for the next two rounds.

If no consensus emerges, the vote would open up to new candidates and the process would start over.

Burrows’ declaration of candidacy was filed Thursday and made public Friday by the Texas Ethics Commission. A top Phelan lieutenant who chaired the powerful Calendars Committee since 2021, gives Phelan supporters a potential candidate to rally behind.

Cook’s list of 48 GOP supporters included hardline conservatives and newcomers who campaigned on reforming the Texas House and who blamed Phelan for the death of Republican priority bills in previous sessions.

Several of the incoming freshmen defeated incumbents who were targeted by Gov. Greg Abbott in the Republican primaries after they voted against a school-funding bill that would have created a school voucher-style program.

Other Republican incumbents were targeted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sought revenge after he was impeached by the Texas House over allegations that he had abused his office and accepted bribes. The Texas Senate acquitted him on a largely party-line vote.

Phelan, who voted for impeachment, appeared vulnerable after the Senate vote, drawing his first primary challengers in the decade he’d been in office. He finished second to David Covey in the primary but narrowly prevailed in the May runoff.

Five House Republicans challenged Phelan for the speaker’s gavel, leading the anti-Phelan contingent to meet in September at an Austin barbecue restaurant to pick a consensus candidate to take on Phelan. Cook emerged victorious over Reps. James Frank of Wichita Falls, Shelby Slawson of Stephenville, Tom Oliverson of Cypress and John Smithee of Amarillo.

“Together, we are going to UNIFY and REFORM the Texas House,” Cook said Nov. 30 on social media.

Cook was reelected to his third term last month. He served as mayor of Mansfield from 2008-21.

Burrows, an attorney, was first elected in 2014, the same year as Phelan. He has chaired influential committees, including Ways and Means, which handles bills on taxes, and Calendars, which schedules bills for floor action.

Burrows also chaired the select committee that investigated the Uvalde school massacre that killed 19 students and two teachers in May 2022.

Saturday’s caucus vote is a prelude to the legislative session that begins Jan. 14, when all 150 members of the Texas House will vote on a speaker. The first candidate to 76 votes wins, with representatives from both parties voting.

Phelan’s bid for a third term had drawn sharp interest within his party, particularly from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presides over the Senate and campaigned against Phelan in the primaries. Patrick blamed him for the demise of conservative legislation and said Phelan is not fit to serve as speaker.

In February, the Texas Republican Party’s executive committee voted 55-4 to censure Phelan for a “lack of fidelity to Republican principles and priorities,” citing his vote to impeach Paxton, the lack of passage of school choice and border security bills and his history of naming Democrats as committee chairs.

In Friday’s announcement, Phelan said his decision to withdraw came after consulting with colleagues in the House.

“Serving in the Texas House is one of the greatest honors of my life, beginning as a staff member in this Capitol, advancing to represent my community as a state legislator, and ultimately leading for four years as Speaker of the Texas House,” he said.

“I am profoundly grateful to those who have supported me throughout my speakership — principled conservatives who have shown steadfast resolve and courage in the face of immense intimidation from outsiders wishing to influence our chamber and its processes,” Phelan added. “Though the battle for my speakership is over, the war for the integrity of this chamber wages on — and we will win.”

In his two previous speaker races, Phelan received overwhelming support from House Republicans and Democrats, prevailing on a 143-2 vote in 2021, and 145-3 in 2023.

In a statement Friday morning, the House Democratic Caucus said its members are available to talk: “For any Speaker candidate interested in serving the House, the Democratic Caucus is available to listen, and hear their plans to finally give Texans a legislative session that puts people over politics.”

Phelan opponents said his withdrawal does not end their fight.

“Dade Phelan was not the central problem with the Texas House,” Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, said on social media. “He was simply the most visible manifestation of it, and we must ensure that he is not replaced by someone also beholden to the same swamp.”
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