DALLAS — Dozens of Republican members of the Texas House have made it clear they will not support the longstanding practice of appointing committee chairs from the opposing party, in this case, Democrats.
Forty-six of those Republicans pledged to only back a Speaker who promises to end the tradition.
But the chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus says they have numbers too.
“I think the conventional wisdom is a Speaker’s race is a game of math. So, as chairman of the House Democratic caucus, I can give you 64 reasons why we will be relevant in this conversation,” Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Democrats control 64 seats in the Texas House. And Rep. Martinez Fischer thinks that number could grow slightly after the general election in November.
A candidate needs 76 votes to be elected Speaker, which represents a majority of the 150-seat lower chamber.
Speaker Dade Phelan, who just eked out a victory in his primary runoff election, has promised to continue the tradition of appointing Democratic chairs. But Rep. Phelan has cut down the number of those appointments, moving from 13 to eight Democratic chairs over the last two sessions.
But at least two other Republican members have also entered the Speaker’s race with a promise to conservatives that they’ll end the practice, including Rep. Shelby Slawson, a Stephenville Republican.
“I think my colleagues need to go back and check their history books. Since the days of Sam Houston, both parties are always represented in leadership in the Texas House. It’s the people’s House,” Rep. Martinez Fischer said.
Those 64 Democrats are also why Martinez Fischer isn’t so sure school vouchers are a done deal, despite Governor Greg Abbott saying he now has the votes to pass them.
The Chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus says the coalition of Democrats and rural Republicans that have long opposed vouchers is still holding strong.