Democratic State Rep. John Bryant of Dallas tossed a potential curve into the Texas House leadership competition on Tuesday when he entered the ring of contenders in a contest that GOP Speaker Dade Phelan appears to have no chance to win with most if not all of the Democrats in his corner.
A veteran lawmaker who served a dozen years in Congress, Bryant submitted the necessary paperwork to become a candidate
for the job that Phelan is fighting to defend in the election on the House floor on opening day of the regular session in January. Bryant gives the speaker's race its second Democrat since State Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos of Dallas launched a bid for the job two months ago.
The field of potential challengers for the GOP is currently down to one since State Rep. David Cook of Mansfield emerged in September as the consensus choice in the race for conservatives who want to chase Phelan from the dais. But Cook has been stuck in neutral with 48 initial supporters in an original base of support that hasn't grown and may have been inflated at the outset.
Cook's campaign has revolved on a promise to strip House Democrats of committee chairmanships that they've held under four speakers for the GOP during 22 years under Republican rule in the west wing in Austin. The Republican challenger's only chance for success could be for Democrats to split their votes fairly unevenly between other candidates in a group that currently includes Phelan, Ramos and Bryant.
It isn't clear exactly what either Democrat hopes to accomplish with a campaign for speaker in a chamber where neither has a possible path to victory barring a miracle in a chamber where the GOP will have an 88-62 advantage after picking up two House seats at the polls a week ago. Ramos and Bryant - two of the lower chamber's more cerebral and outspoken Democrats - know that a Republican can't win the speaker's election in 2025 without a significant amount of Democratic support in the current environment.
A candidate must win a majority of votes in a House with 150 members. A subsequent vote would be required if none of the candidates who've been nominated on the floor receive 76 votes at least the first time around. The contenders who place first and second in the initial vote would advance to the second ballot. Members would have to keep voting in the event of a tie until it's broken.
Cook's supporters would like to believe that Democrats will abandon Phelan so they can vote for one of their own like Ramos or Bryant instead. The Democrats would be handing the election in such an event to the same Republicans who've promised to ban them from holding committee chairmanships in line with tradition in the GOP era here.
The anti-Phelan Republicans are portraying the caucus nomination in a sacrosanct light even though none of the GOP members who've been elected as the speaker have needed it to win. Cook's supporters are counting on Republican colleagues to cower in fear of revenge from primary voters when they're on the ballot again in 2026.
But Phelan appears to have 18 to 20 Republicans in the fold at the present time - and he would only need 14 GOP votes to claim a third term with the gavel if all of the House's 62 Democrats were on board. Phelan could be playing with fire, however, by trying ways to keep the Democrats marching behind if he capitulates to outside demands and agrees to prohibit them from leading standing panels in the House next year.
Phelan's camp has floated the prospect for individual member budget boosts and other perks in an attempt to keep Democrats from bolting before the election. But the Democrats are in prime position to up their demands and expectations instead of accepting consolations. They could tell any Republicans seeking their support for speaker to take a hike without the same basic number of committee chairs with better overall assignments and other enticements that are possible with the massive advantage of incumbency in a House speaker fight.
Republicans hold the majority in the west end of the statehouse. But Democrats have the ability to choose the speaker if they play it right.
