Gotta admit, I’m a little surprised.
Rep. Dustin Burrows
Rep. Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, was voted speaker of the Texas House on Tuesday, elevating him to one of the most powerful positions in state government.
Burrows’ win marks a disappointing defeat for the insurgent wing of the party who have been working since the last legislative session to push establishment Republicans out of power. Those insurgent Republicans, who wish to push the chamber further to the right, picked up more than a dozen seats in the most recent election cycle and saw this speaker race as their best chance in years to oust the current House leadership.
But while Burrows’ predecessor, Rep. Dade Phelan of Beaumont, was forced to give up the gavel, the elevation of his close ally signals a similar power structure will likely remain in place.
Burrows won the speaker’s race by a vote of 85-55, edging out Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, with nine members who were present but did not vote.
Burrows’ support from Democrats will likely become major ammunition for his Republican critics aligned with the party’s right wing who warned that the new speaker should be chosen by a majority of GOP votes.
It’s unlikely that Republicans will completely unite behind Burrows despite his win. Many of his critics have promised to go after Republicans who supported Burrows in the primary, and the Republican Party of Texas has vowed to censure those members who broke from Cook.
You can see who voted for whom here – the “A” votes are for Burrows, the “N”s are for Cook, and the rest did not vote. While I’ve previously said that the one constant in the Texas Legislature has been quick resolutions to Speaker elections, I thought this one might drag out, just because there was so much bad blood on the Republican side. But it wasn’t to be, so congrats to Speaker Burrows. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that.
I’ve already said my piece about this, and it still holds. Anything that makes Dan Patrick sad is fine by me, and if this gums up the works in passing some bills, that’s likely to be for the best. Take your victories where you can and go from there. The Chron, Reform Austin, Bayou City Sludge, Lone Star Left, and The Barbed Wire have more, with the latter bringing some nicer news about the first day’s events as well.