Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, come on down!
Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos
A Texas House Democrat is joining the crowded field to challenge Republican Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, for the speakership.
Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, D-Richardson, told The Texas Tribune she felt energized to run for the leadership post after attending the National Democratic Convention and speaking to grassroots activists around the state.
“Michelle Obama stated a call of action and said, ‘Don’t sit around and complain, do something,’” Rodríguez Ramos said. “So I decided to run for speaker of the House.”
Democrats are the minority party, with 64 seats in the 150-member Texas House, so Rodríguez Ramos faces an uphill battle. Despite that, Rodríguez Ramos is confident that Democrats can flip the house this November.
“We need every voter to not only come out and vote for the national level,” Rodríguez Ramos said. “But also vote to change this extremist agenda that’s been advancing here in Texas.”
She said Democrats are unified with her, unlike state Republicans.
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Phelan won the gavel in 2021 and again in 2023 with widespread bipartisan support. Rodríguez Ramos, who voted present, was the only Democrat to not vote for Phelan in 2023.
“It’s not his personality; it’s his politics,” she said.
Rodríguez Ramos said the contested speakership race shows how chaotic Republicans have become. She pointed to Republicans’ legislative priorities, which she said don’t represent all Texans, and compared the State GOP priorities to “Project 2025.”
“I am the right Democrat to help us as we stop this extremist agenda,” Rodríguez Ramos said.
New day, new Speaker candidate, it seems. To review the bidding again, Rep. Ramos joins Tom Oliverson, Shelby Slawson, David Cook, James Frank, and Rep. John Smithee in the ring. While I would call it a longshot for Dems to regain the majority, as there are many seats that would need to be won, mostly in majority-Trump places, and a smaller number of Dem candidates who have the financial support to mount serious campaigns, it is not unprecedented for a Dem in similar circumstances to give it a shot. Rep. Senfronia Thompson has done it twice before, in 2006/2007, and again in 2020. For obvious reasons, she’s at the top of my list, but she’ll need a lot more support than that. I wish her all the best.