From the Texas Tribune:
In a stunning turn of events, state Rep. Dustin Burrows of Lubbock announced Saturday evening that he had the necessary votes to become the next speaker of the Texas House.
“The speaker's race is over,” he said in a news conference that lasted less than two minutes. “I have secured enough to be speaker of the House for the next session.”
Burrows said the support is bipartisan and he would release the list of supporters later Saturday. He did not take questions.
That came just minutes after Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, Burrows’ main rival for the speaker’s gavel, had been declared the endorsed candidate by the House GOP Caucus by a vote of 48-14 after a contingent of Burrows’ supporters dramatically left the meeting after the two rivals had stalemated in the first two rounds.
All 88 GOP caucus members are tied by the group’s rules to vote for the endorsed candidate, which would help Cook surpass the 76-vote threshold in January to be elected speaker. But Burrows made his announcement surrounded by dozens of fellow Republican supporters indicating that those lawmakers were willing to go against the rules to back Burrows.
After the caucus meeting, Cook thanked the 62 members who remained “committed to the process” and stayed until the caucus chose a candidate. Additionally, he committed to unifying the caucus by working with those who walked.
“This is still a race,” Cook told reporters. “That was something obviously we were hoping for today. We were hopeful that the 88 Republicans in the Texas House Republican Caucus would come together and make a decision, to a unified decision, that unifies all Texas House Republicans so that the Texas House can move forward. So, no, it’s not over.”
Later, asked by the Tribune for his plan if Burrows puts out a list of 76 supporters, Cook said he would continue working with members to earn the majority.
Cook is the only candidate who has publicly posted his list of supporters as of Saturday evening, garnering support from 48 lawmakers, all Republicans.
After the caucus meeting, Cook said the race was not over and he wanted to work with the 26 lawmakers who left to win over their support. Cook also said he was willing to talk to Democrats to earn their support.
The dueling claims of victory are a sign that the intraparty Republican war could continue into the next legislative session.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/12/07/texas-house-speaker-david-cook-dustin-burrows/.
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