Thompson Could Be Next House Speaker
after the Democrats Turn 24 Districts Blue
Capitol Inside
November 4, 2026
A speaker's race erupted in the Texas House unexpectedly late Tuesday night after Democrats reclaimed the majority for the first time in two dozen years when they flipped 24 seats in an extraordinary midterm election that relegated the Republicans to the lower class in the west wing in Austin.
Texas Senate Republicans wasted no time circling the wagons in the wake of Democrat Vikki Goodwin's election to the chamber president's position when she ousted Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in Tuesday's vote. After breaking even with Democrats in the state Senate competition, the Republicans are tentatively planning to change the rules at the outset of the 2027 regular session in a move that would strip Goodwin of all the powers that Patrick has enjoyed before she is sworn into the new role. But the Republicans in the Senate could be out of luck based on the fact they can't amend the chamber's rules without a quorum - which Democrats have the ability to break with a disappearing act until the new lieutenant governor's inauguration.
Democratic State Reps. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth, Rafael Anchia of Dallas and Mando Martinez of Weslaco - in the meantime - were already testing the waters for potential leadership bids before Wednesday morning arrived. The prevailing sentiment, however, was that veteran State Rep. Senfronia Thompson of Houston has the best chance to be the new speaker if she wants the job.
Current Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows will be relinquishing the gavel after one term in a heart-wrenching end to a tour around the state on behalf of GOP allies in competitive races with Democrats on the ballot November 3. Burrows traveled from town to town on a huge red bus that was painted red and emblazoned in white with a slogan he hatched for quest - One Party, One Mission.
Burrows' days as speaker may have been numbered even if the GOP had retained control of the House at the polls this week. The Lubbock lawyer won the post on the strength of his support from Democrats in a fight with a GOP caucus nominee who a majority of the chamber's Republicans supported in the speaker's election on the floor at the start of the regular session in 2025.
But Burrows had alienated most of the Democrats who'd carried him to victory in the leadership contest last year. Burrows' bowing to President Donald Trump on a new congressional map that the House and Senate approved may have been the last straw with some of the Democrats whose support he rode into the dais.
Burrows made the mistake of thinking he could win a second term as speaker with Republican votes exclusively after ingratiating himself with the president and Patrick as the Senate president. No one has ever been elected as the Texas House speaker with support from both parties. That could change, however, if Thompson is the consensus candidate for the Democrats.
But the eventual winner of the Democratic speaker sweepstakes will expect to have as many Republicans as possible on board. The House's most conservative Republicans and their allies in the MAGA base called for the banning of Democratic committee chairs at the start of the 2025 session. Now that they've fumbled away the majority, however, the Republicans who backed such a move may have second thoughts about their positions on the subject.
The Democrats have 62 seats on the current House roster. The Democrats will have 86 seats when the chamber convenes in January compared to 64 for the GOP - barring successful election challenges in the closest races.
GOP State Reps. Candy Noble of Parker and Keresa Richardson of McKinney both lost by 2 points - according to the SOS election returns. The incumbents who went down in defeat on Tuesday included GOP State Reps. Angie Chen Button of Garland, Denise Villalobos of Corpus Christi, Janie Lopez of San Benito, Caroline Harris Davila of Round Rock, Marc LaHood of San Antonio, Lacey Hull of Houston, Keresa Richardson of McKinney, Candy Noble of Parker, Ben Bumgarner of Flower Mound, John McQueeney of Fort Worth, Hillary Hickland of Belton, Don McLaughlin of Uvalde, Charles Cunninghan of Houston, Paul Dyson of College Station, Jerry Patterson of Frisco, Matt Morgan of Richmond, Mike Schofield of Katy and Mark Dorazio of San Antonio..
Patterson, Dyson, Morgan and Dorazio were all listed as winning 50 percent of Tuesday's vote but trailed Democrats in the total count by small amounts. Republicans lost open races for three House seats that are red now.
more to come ...
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