Thompson Claims to Have Votes for Speaker
as Border Dem Enters Ring in Tsunami Wake
Capitol Inside
November 5, 2026
Veteran Democrat State Rep. Senfronia Thompson revealed on Thursday that she has the votes to win the speaker's job in the Texas House and plans to roll out the list of her supporters on Friday.
Thompson moved swiftly to defuse the potential competition by suggesting that the race was over after State Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass threw his name in the ring with an announcement that he'd filed to run for speaker in the leadership election in January.
The speaker's race got under way with lightning speed late Tuesday night when it became apparent that the Democrats had seized control of the House for the first time since losing the majority 24 years ago. Democrats flipped 20 House districts at the polls on Tuesday in a development that gave them 82 compared to 68 for the Republicans.
One of the Democrats who was elected in a House district that's been red may not be eligible to serve as a result of past felony conviction that prompted her to drop out of an open race. That would leave the Democrats with 81 seats in the House until a special election could be held in that particular district in Tarrant County. .
Some Democrats from border districts have expressed reservations about Thompson based primarily on her age in a post that requires long hours, late nights and considerable stamina when the Legislature is in session. Thompson turns 88 at the start of the new year. She's shown no apparent signs of slowing, however, as an attorney who entered the chamber in 1973 when America was still at war in Vietnam the year before the Watergate scandal cost Richard Nixon the presidency.
Morales is nearing the end of his third term in the House as the representative in a district on the border where President Donald Trump won by 15 points in 2024. Morales was on track to be the Republicans' top target when they thought Trump's success in border areas represented a permanent alignment of the vote in that part of the state. Morales won easily on Tuesday when he crushed Republican Robert Garza by 30 points in House District 74 with 65 percent of the midterm vote.
"Texas faces critical challenges and we must hit the ground running to solve them," Morales said. "There is no time to waste. I look forward to earning the votes and trust of my colleagues and working to deliver results across the state."
Morales, who's also an attorney, said that he'd been born in the Mexican border city of Piedras Negras across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass. Morales lived in a colonia and worked in a family tortilla factory until he was 12.
While Morales has been popular with colleagues, he appeared to face an insurmountable obstacle with Thompson in his path in the speaker's race. Several House Democrats had made calls on Tuesday and Wednesday to gauge potential speaker bids before Thompson emerged as the frontrunner.
Thompson has incomparable experience, institutional knowledge and respect among the membership. The 56-year House veteran has chaired at least five standing committees under four speakers - three who are Republicans and one Democrat. Thompson led the Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee in 2021 after a stint at the head of the Public Health Committee for two years before that.
Thompson served as the Judicial Affairs Committee chair for 12 years when Democrats still controlled the House. She was Local and Consent Calendars Committee chair for 10 years when Republican was the speaker.
The House had 133 Democrats and 17 Republicans when Thompson was a freshman member 56 years ago.
more to come ...
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