Busloads of conservative activists and even the squalling guitar chords of classic rocker Ted Nugent populated the Texas Capitol and grounds on Tuesday, in hopes of shifting the House of Representatives in a rightward direction.

While their visits and protests, including scores of red “No Democrat Chairs” T-shirts, were the loudly seen and heard, the established House leadership team will have another session in power going into the 89th Texas Legislature.

Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows won the Speaker vote with the support of a minority of Republicans but enough Democrats to carry him to the majority of the 150 total House members required to win.

Going in to Tuesday, Day 1 of the new legislative session, it was widely anticipated he would win with the support of centrist Democrats, but Cook supporters fought to the last minute.

Burrows finished with 71 votes on the first ballot and 85 on a second ballot. The two votes were held consecutively with no second round of speeches or deliberations, with Secretary of State and former longtime Senator Jane Nelson at the rostrum.

Rep. David Cook, the main Republican opponent and the nominee of the House Republican Caucus (see our coverage here) garnered 56 votes on the first ballot and 55 on the second ballot — all Republicans. A progressive candidate, Rep. Ana-Maria Rodriguez-Ramos, carried 23 Democrats on the first ballot and, being disqualified, nine voted present/not-voting on the second ballot.

Cook’s supporters complained about House leadership stymying conservative reforms in previous sessions, as well as relying on the support of Democrats to win — a mix they fear will keep Texas from advancing Republican platform priorities. Burrows is a close ally of former Speaker Dade Phelan, who dropped out of the Speaker’s race in late 2024.

“It has been a difficult time for a lot of us, but it’s time for us to come together,” said Republican Rep. Greg Bonnen, speaking of Burrows’ victory. Bonnen is the brother of recent former speaker Dennis Bonnen.

Burrows called his new perch “the bottom of the House organizational chart” and vowed to bring the chamber together. “… Our strength lies not in conformity, but how we harmonize these diverse voices in this chamber … Every member will have a voice. Every district will have a seat at the table.”

In years past, challenges from the rightward flank have been unsuccessful as it is the House members alone who pick the Speaker. Despite its red state reputation, Texas has many large cities which contain heavily populated blue districts. However this year brought a stronger protest from the Right than in previous sessions, with the Republican Party of Texas (RPT) threatening to “primary” any Republican who defied the House caucus nominee (Cook) under rules passed by convention delegates.

Complicating matters was a walkout by Burrows supporters during the House Republican Caucus meeting in November, which handed Cook the nomination. RPT and numerous county parties issued statements calling for Republican House members who supported Burrows (branded “the holdouts”) to stand by the nominee, instead.

Mainstream media outlets such as the Dallas Morning News editorial section called the intra-party contest an example of a “purity test disaster.” More conservative voices pointed to Texas falling behind the red states when it comes to acting on various reforms. Numerous Burrows supporters such as longtime Republican Rep. Charlie Geren accused Cook’s campaign of being propped up by “billionaires” and their interest groups.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick stepped in, labeling certain ranking House leaders as the “Goodfellas” (a mob movie reference) and pointing out their common financial connections to a bank, and asserting they control too much of House decision-making.

Five business partners control the operations of the Texas House: Dennis Bonnen, Greg Bonnen, Dustin Burrows, Cody Harris, and Dade Phelan. They are also business partners together in a bank.

Many House members may not have known that and how their personal connection controls…

— Dan Patrick (@DanPatrick) January 12, 2025

Rep. Cecil Bell, who officially switched from Cook to Burrows over the last day, defended his autonomy between the Republican caucus meeting and today’s opening session:

FYSA The “SHALL” select nominee process is completed. We have an Endorsed candidate. Next is Caucus rule adopted in the same 2017 motion. To be clear, the rule says Members “SHOULD” vote for endorsed nominee retaining Member obligation to evaluate candidates and autonomy to vote. https://t.co/B7KQ6kuLTk

— Cecil Bell Jr (@CBellJr) January 13, 2025

From the hip: Now there are lists.

A list of Republican members who defied the Republican caucus in selecting the speaker (a practice in place for a little over a decade, we should add) and reached out to the Democrats to build consensus.

A list of members who stood by a challenger who both satisfied conservative advocacy groups and (technically) won the GOP caucus vote, and held together through Day 1 of the new legislature. Often, the choice is settled by opening day with all but the most ardent voting for the presumptive speaker.

And also a list of anywhere from nine to 23 Hard Democrats who are not interested in playing along with the GOP.

The lines will be more clearly drawn this session than in years past, which may result in a more visible “three factions” dynamic that has been present for a quite some time.

Interestingly, Burrows (from Lubbock in West Texas) and his supporters were bringing up memories of a Texas Legislature that was not divided by party or ideology as much as it was by rural versus urban interests. One reason why — as well as a line of scrimmage this session and the last — is school choice.

School choice (in the form of education savings accounts) has been one issue that has met support and acclaim from nearly every nook and cranny of the conservative movement in Texas (aside from those who fear it will lead to control of private schools or those who oppose it for economic reasons). But in rural and small-town House districts, where a public school can be a center of community pride and identity (especially on Friday nights during the fall) school choice is finding opposition or ambivalence. It is here that the House establishment has bucked Gov. Greg Abbott and the state Senate, resulting in an incomplete school finance bill last session that has local districts threatening cuts.

In many ways, the 89th session will mirror the 88th. But now that so much fuss has been made over school choice and the speaker’s race, the 89th will be a more more sharply divided landscape. The stakes will be higher, and 2026 voters may have another issue to base their decisions on.

This brings up a question: Does Burrows represent a continuation of a more conservative Speaker each session? Of course that depends on who you ask. It also depends on which scorecard or rating is being referred to — some have Cook, Burrows, and Phelan as neighbors on the center-right and others have them further apart, with Cook to the starboard side.

In Texas, with so many boobytraps built into the state constitution to kill bills, a leader’s esteem among the party faithful comes down to policy priorities and procedure rather than political orientation. Cook supporters in the know were not (as much) throwing around the usual barbs about Burrows being the RINO in the race and Cook being the true conservative. Rather, knowledgeable Cook supporters were pointing out the House establishment’s favoring of “slow walking” legislation to death, opposing the Governor’s priority bills, and, yes, appointing certain Democrats as committee chairman.

To that, we’ll give Rep. Toni Rose, a Dallas-area Democrat and Burrows supporter, credit for the comment of the day and encapsulating the vibe of the majority:

“I hear it all the time, ‘Don’t California my Texas,’ ‘Don’t California my Texas.’ Well, don’t Washington my Texas!”

For now, the Lone Star State continues to shine in its own way. Speaking of, here’s Ted Nugent (familiar hits include “Cat Scratch Fever” and “Stranglehold” — see what we did in the headline, now?) rocking the National Anthem on a nearby Austin street this morning as legislators gathered for their swearing in. Austin does claim to be the Live Music Capital of the World, after all. Crank up the volume.

🇺🇸 Ted Nugent unofficially kicks off the 89th Lege with our National Anthem, a few blocks south of the Texas Capitol. pic.twitter.com/D5L6v9XrLA

— Travis County GOP (@TravisGOP) January 14, 2025

Ballot 1:
(Needs at least 76 votes to win)
71 Burrows
23 Rodriguez-Ramos
56 Cook

Runoff
(Between top 2, per rules)
85 Burrows
55 Cook
9 Present/Not Voting

Names associated with votes will appear in the House Journal when available.

 

UPDATE: 3:33 p.m.  Some math errors fixed.