Texas Legislature opens with election of House speaker. How did Mansfield lawmaker fare?
The next Texas House speaker will not be from Tarrant County.
Rep. David Cook, a Mansfield Republican, lost with 55 votes to Rep. Dustin Burrows’ 85, after two rounds of voting, on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Three candidates were initially nominated for the leadership role: Cook, Burrows, a Lubbock Republican, and Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, a Richardson Democrat. But after the first round, a single candidate didn’t get a majority of the votes and the race advanced into a runoff between Burrows and Cook.
It takes 76 votes, a simple majority, to win the speakership. There are 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats in the Texas House. Burrows had the support of 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans. Cook had the support of 52 Republicans and three Democrats, including Rodríguez Ramos.
The vote fell on the first day of the 89th Texas Legislative Session. The session lasts 140 days and falls every two years.
“In my time with you today I want to be painfully direct and mercifully brief, focusing on one overriding concept: This is the people’s House,” Burrows said, after winning the race.
Cook told reporters he was disappointed with the result but proud of the support he garnered. He congratulated Burrows.
“I’ve been working on the speaker’s race for about four months, and now I look forward to jumping forward to into the legislative aspect. That’s what my constituents elected me to do.”
Cook said that while running for speaker he opted not to file any bills, but said he will be filing legislation soon. He did not elaborate on what he’s proposing.
Speaking to lawmakers, Burrows looked ahead to challenges facing the House, such as addressing property tax relief, public school support, investments in water infrastructure and addressing the threat of terrorists following the deadly attack in New Orleans early on New Year’s Day when a Texas man drove his truck into a crowd at Bourbon Street.
For months, Republican lawmakers have fought over who should be the next speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.
House Speaker Dade Phelan had been seeking his third session in the leadership role but dropped out of the race on Dec. 6. He’d faced scrutiny from some within the GOP for his leadership, including the appointment of Democrats as committee chairs — a long held House tradition — and the House’s impeachment of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Burrows entered the race around the same time, challenging Cook, who announced his bid for speaker in September.
Cook is backed by a group of candidates who are seeking reforms to the Texas House, namely the elimination of Democrats as committee chairs. Some Capitol visitors wore red shirts advocating that Democratic chairs be banned. Supporters of the idea generally argue that the longstanding practice stifles Republican priorities.
The House has not yet set its rules for the session, including whether Democrats can lead committees.
Members advocate for their speaker picks
Members were joined by family and friends on the House floor as they were sworn into office, but the pomp and circumstance didn’t last long. Guests left and business began early Tuesday afternoon.
In Tarrant County, Rep. John McQueeney, Rep. Giovanni Capriglione and Rep. Charlie Geren, all of whom are Republicans, voted for Burrows. Fellow Republicans Rep. Nate Schatzline, Rep. Tony Tinderholt and Rep. David Lowe voted for Cook.
Democrats Rep. Ramon Romero, Jr., Rep. Salman Bhojani and Rep. Chris Turner voted for Burrows. Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, was present but did not vote for a specific candidate in the second round. She and Romero voted for Rodríguez Ramos in the first round.
Ahead of the vote, House members took turns giving nominating speeches advocating for their candidate of choice.
Rep. Trent Ashby, a Lufkin Republican, spoke in support of Cook.
Cook values collaboration and all perspectives regardless of party affiliation or professional background, Ashby said. He referenced Cook’s background as Mansfield mayor.
“It is perfectly OK to disagree,” Ashby said. “I assure you this won’t be the last time that you find yourself on the opposite side as some of your closest colleagues. However, it is in these moments of disagreement and division that I believe David Cook’s approach to leadership truly shines.”
Cook believes that leadership is about empowering others, rather than concentrating power in a single person, Ashby said.
“Members, we face a critical choice at this hour: Continue down the same path or chart a new one to make this House great,” Ashby said.
Rep. Charlie Geren, a Fort Worth Republican, said he understands “the urge to ignore the Democrats and push our Republican agenda through without any dissent” while speaking in support of Burrows from the House floor.
But the members’ constituents are not just Republicans, he said.
“They’re not just Democrats,” Geren said. “They’re not just independents. They’re rich people. They’re poor people. They are school children both in public and private, and we owe it to them to do our best to take care of their needs, not ours.”
Geren later added that, “we need to elect a speaker who will uphold our traditions, and despite what you hear from paid influence, paid by billionaires that want to control this room, they’re not going to.
“Working together, both Republicans and Democrats, we have passed major tax relief, very conservative, but major tax relief. We have provided more money to help secure our border, and we have worked together to try and get to these places.”
House Republican Caucus held a Dec. 7 meeting to vote on the caucus’ pick for speaker. After multiple hours and rounds of voting, Cook was selected with only 62 of 88 members present. The other Republican members and incoming members who were present chose to leave the meeting, Cook told reporters at a news conference.
Burrows held a news conference of his own the same day declaring that he had enough support from a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to win the speaker race.
Cooks and Burrows released dueling lists of supporters following their remarks to reporters.
What did state officials say ahead of the Texas House speaker vote?
Ahead of the vote, some statewide officials stressed that the House speaker needs to picked by a Republican majority.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a Jan. 7 social media post said he doesn’t support any Republican who wins the leadership role with the help of a few Republicans and a majority of Democrats. Patrick, who serves as president of the Texas Senate, said he doesn’t care who the speaker is as long as they win with a large Republican majority.
Though he didn’t mention Cook by name, Abbott made a similar point in Dec. 11 social media post.
“Let me be clear: I worked this entire year to elect conservative candidates who will pass conservative laws, including school choice,” Abbott said. “To achieve that goal we need a Texas House Speaker chosen by a majority of Republicans in accordance with the Republican Caucus Rules.”
Paxton traveled around the state in the days leading up to Tuesday’s vote, including in North Texas. He urged attendees at a Fort Worth stop to pressure their lawmakers to back the Cook in his bid, according to WFAA, the Star-Telegram’s media partner.
“If we are going to represent our districts and our constituents, we need to make sure we have our agenda front and center instead of the Democrats’ agenda,” Paxton said, according to WFAA, the Star-Telegram’s media partner.
Asked why lawmakers should be encouraged to back Cook during a Monday night conversation streamed on X, Paxton said he actually doesn’t know Cook that well. Both Cook and Burrows voted to impeach Paxton, who was later acquitted in a Senate trial.
Whoever is the speaker pick, there will always be flaws, Paxton said.
“He voted to impeach me, but he apologized to me, and here’s the other thing,” Paxton said, referring to Cook. “He was elected by the majority of Republicans, and that’s the process we have to trust.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM.
