State Rep. Jay Dean continues to face criticism from some of his constituents for supporting Rep. Dustin Burrows to be the next speaker of the Texas House 性视界传媒 mere days before legislators will cast their votes.
But while Dean said he性视界传媒檚 happy to reach amenable disagreements with constituents, he性视界传媒檒l resist illegal attempts to keep him off future Republican Party ballots because of his support for Burrows.
性视界传媒淭hey want to talk about censuring me to try to keep me off a ballot? I made it very clear, 性视界传媒業性视界传媒檒l see you in the courthouse,性视界传媒櫺允咏绱綕 said Dean, R-Longview. 性视界传媒淎nd it will not be just about a suit against the, for instance, Harrison County party. It性视界传媒檒l be against each and every individual that signed on to an unconstitutional document.性视界传媒
Five active precinct chairs and two former chairs of the Gregg County Republican Party of said Dean has 性视界传媒渄isregarded the will of the Republican majority性视界传媒 in the race for the House speaker by supporting Burrows, R-Lubbock, rather than Rep. David Cook, R-Mansfield, who won the House Republican Caucus性视界传媒 nomination.
性视界传媒淲e urge you to reconsider your position and join the House Republican Caucus and the Republican Party of Texas in unified support of the only Republican nominee for Speaker,性视界传媒 the Gregg County precinct chairs wrote in a recent letter to Dean. 性视界传媒淔ailing to do so not only betrays the trust of the voters who elected you but also jeopardizes the conservative principles we have sent you to Austin to defend.性视界传媒
Some Texas Republicans have suggested that Republican lawmakers supporting Burrows could be censured and kept from running on the party性视界传媒檚 ballot in future elections using a party rule. However, the rule doesn性视界传媒檛 supersede state election law, which bars political parties from restricting ballot access, a law firm opined Thursday.
The Gregg County party members who wrote the letter to Dean did not mention censuring him, and party Chairman William McWhorter said the party won性视界传媒檛 consider censuring Dean anyway, as the party remains neutral in the speaker性视界传媒檚 race. The Republican Party of Harrison County, however, has signaled its willingness to censure Dean.
The contest for the speakership has created sharp division among Republicans and Republican legislators. State leaders such as Attorney General Ken Paxton and state GOP Chairman Abraham George have condemned Republicans backing Burrows, saying they性视界传媒檙e betraying Republican values and cutting deals with Democrats to elect him.
The speaker性视界传媒檚 position is vital to the operation of the House and wields significant control over which bills become law. While the election of a speaker normally is a quiet process, the competition between Burrows and Cook likely will determine whether the House passes some of the most conservative legislative priorities of the state Republican Party.
The legislative session begins Tuesday, and House members will elect a new speaker that day, charting the course for the legislative session.
性视界传媒楩irst really, truly contested speaker race性视界传媒The battle over the speakership began in December when slightly more than half of the House Republican Caucus 性视界传媒 which includes all Republicans in the House 性视界传媒 voted to support Cook for the speakership. A number of Republicans backing Burrows walked out of the meeting after two rounds of voting ended in a stalemate, giving Cook the caucus性视界传媒 support by a vote of 48-14. Burrows, however, said he had enough support to win the speakership by uniting Democrats and anti-Cook Republicans.
According to the caucus bylaws, all Republican Caucus members 性视界传媒渟hould性视界传媒 support the caucus nominee for speaker, though the bylaws don性视界传媒檛 state explicitly that the members must do so. Paxton, George and others have urged Republicans to back Cook, saying that they should follow caucus bylaws.
If all 88 Republicans in the caucus backed the same candidate, that candidate could win without a single vote from Democrats. The speaker needs the votes of at least 76 of the 150 members of the House.
During an event in Tyler this past Monday, Paxton said Dean and two other East Texas representatives supporting Burrows 性视界传媒 District 5 Rep. Cole Hefner, R-Mount Pleasant, and District 8 Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine 性视界传媒 should expect to be challenged during the 2026 primary election because of their support for Burrows. Paxton questioned whether the men are conservative and said Democratic influence in the House would weaken the Republican agenda.
Much of the debate regarding the speakership centers on a practice in the Texas House wherein Democrats, the minority party, are appointed to chair some of House legislative committees. Committee chairs can control what legislation is and isn性视界传媒檛 sent to the House floor for a vote. Former Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, continued the practice and was criticized for it.
Cook has pledged to ban the practice of allowing Democrats to chair committee positions, while Burrows 性视界传媒 who has received campaign donations from Phelan 性视界传媒 has said that decision should be made by legislators when they convene Tuesday.
Normally, the speaker性视界传媒檚 race isn性视界传媒檛 a hotly contested office, said Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University.
性视界传媒淚n the previous elections, it was pretty clear by at least December, if not earlier, who the next speaker would be, and the vote itself was only going to ratify the already de facto speaker,性视界传媒 Jones said. 性视界传媒淭his is the first really, truly contested speaker race that we性视界传媒檝e had during the era of Republican control.性视界传媒
Differences between Burrows, CookThe appointment of Democrats to chair positions reflects the ideological differences of Burrows and Cook and how each would run the House, Jones said. As speaker, Burrows would rely on a coalition of Democrats and center-right Republicans to pass legislation, while Cook would rely entirely on the Republican majority.
Burrows likely would have to give Democrats committee chair positions and legislative victories to retain his speakership, as the speaker can be removed at any time, Jones said.
性视界传媒淎 lot of the conservative legislation never reaches the House floor because that性视界传媒檚 part of the speaker性视界传媒檚 informal coalition agreement with Democrats, that they have the ability to kill off certain conservative bills as a payment for their continued support,性视界传媒 he said.
Yet Burrows will have to walk a fine line between giving victories to Democrats and ensuring that his Republican supporters 性视界传媒 numbering between 25 and 30, approximately 性视界传媒 get enough conservative legislation passed to get reelected, especially considering that they性视界传媒檙e likely to face primary challengers in 2026, Jones said.
性视界传媒淲hether you性视界传媒檙e Jay Dean or Cole Hefner or Gary VanDeaver, you have to be able ... to provide some sort of rebuttal when you get the inevitable attack that, by aligning with Democrats, you killed off this litany of conservative bills,性视界传媒 Jones said.
With Burrows as speaker, the House could experience more tension between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and the Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott, Jones said.
Dean and Hefner have previously told the News-Journal that they believe Burrows is the more conservative candidate for the speakership. Hefner cited Burrows性视界传媒 work to lower property taxes, pass constitutional weapons carrying and restrict abortion.
As a committee chairman, Burrows expedited border security bills requested by Abbott, Dean said. Burrows understands rural ways of life, has more experience than Cook and would best serve the interests of House District 7. He also said that, as mayor of Mansfield, Cook voted to ban fracking, a crucial process in the oil and gas industry, in the city limits.
性视界传媒淓ast Texas, that性视界传媒檚 our primary industry driver. We need somebody like that sitting in the speaker性视界传媒檚 seat? That性视界传媒檚 not advantageous to House District 7,性视界传媒 Dean said.
Gregg GOP members speak outThe five active and two former Republican Party of Gregg County chairs who signed the letter to Dean made their wishes clear: They want to see the Republican Party unite and quit cutting deals with House Democrats.
Party chairs Amy Bridges, Sandra Odom, Robert Woods, Jon Wiersig, Jennifer Kranzman and former chairs Dawn Barber and Rachael Sikes Moore wrote that they want Dean to follow caucus bylaws and vote for Cook.
性视界传媒淟ed by Rep. Dustin Burrows, you have engaged in negotiations with Democrats to install their preferred Speaker,性视界传媒 their letter reads. 性视界传媒淏y partnering with Democrats in opposition to the House Republican Caucus, you undermine the very platform you championed during the 2024 Republican Primary and General Election.性视界传媒
In an interview with the News-Journal, Bridges said she believes Cook will eliminate procedural tricks used by Democrats and liberal Republicans to stall legislation championed by the state Republican Party.
性视界传媒淲e elect our representatives, our Republicans, to represent us here in Texas, and I don性视界传媒檛 feel like we have to be beholden to the Democrats,性视界传媒 Bridges said. 性视界传媒淲e are the majority party, and we don性视界传媒檛 have to share power with them.性视界传媒
Bridges also claims that McWhorter, the Gregg County party chair, did not call a meeting allowing county executive committee members to vote for their preferred speaker candidate.
McWhorter said the county party性视界传媒檚 membership is split on the issue and that remaining neutral was the best option. No matter who wins the speakership, the county party should be in a position to work with the speaker to advocate for the party性视界传媒檚 legislative priorities and conservative policy.
McWhorter also said the party will not consider censuring Dean according to Rule 44 of the state Republican Party, which bars censured Republicans from running on GOP ballots for two years. Attempting to censure representatives would open the party up to lawsuits, and trying to keep someone off a ballot amounts to voter disenfranchisement, McWhorter said.
The Republican Party of Harrison County in late December passed a resolution calling on Dean to support the state Republican Party性视界传媒檚 legislative priorities and that the party 性视界传媒渕ay censure their elected representative性视界传媒 for failing to follow legislative priorities.
Bridges said she wanted to have a chance to talk with her fellow executive committee about the issue.
性视界传媒淚 never mentioned the word 性视界传媒榗ensure性视界传媒 to anyone,性视界传媒 Bridges said. 性视界传媒淚 wanted to get together, to have a meeting, to discuss, to maybe put out a statement, possibly a resolution. I never use the word 性视界传媒榗ensure.性视界传媒櫺允咏绱綕
While the party has the right to censure elected officials, Rule 44 takes that a step too far, according to a legal analysis written Thursday by the Scanes, Yelverton and Talbert LLP law firm in Waco. Attorneys wrote that the Texas Election Code 性视界传媒渄oes not permit political parties to restrict ballot access with additional obligations like Rule 44性视界传媒 and that the party性视界传媒檚 procedures don性视界传媒檛 change state law.
Jones, the political science professor, concurred.
性视界传媒淭he Republican Party of Texas is the formal party organization. It runs the primaries, but it has no control over who runs, as long as those people follow whatever the rules are related to filing teams or signatures or when and if they性视界传媒檙e required,性视界传媒 Jones said.
Dean said he won性视界传媒檛 be 性视界传媒渂ullied性视界传媒 or 性视界传媒渢hreatened性视界传媒 by a small group of people because his job is to listen to the district性视界传媒檚 constituents as a whole.
性视界传媒淚性视界传媒檓 glad to agree to disagree with people if we have the opportunity to have a good conversation of the facts, and if we just can性视界传媒檛 agree, I性视界传媒檓 OK with that. I性视界传媒檓 not worried about those people,性视界传媒 Dean said. 性视界传媒淏ut when they want to start talking about 性视界传媒 when certain of their memberships also start talking about legal tactics 性视界传媒 I性视界传媒檓 going to pay attention to that. I性视界传媒檓 fighting back with them.性视界传媒
