Thompson Names Team for Speaker Race
as Republican Parade to Her Camp Begins
Capitol Inside November 6, 2026
Houston Democrat Senfronia Thompson appeared to lock down the Texas House speaker's position on Friday after a border lawmaker who'd been the only competition bowed out of the race and gave her an enthusiastic endorsement while a parade of GOP colleagues to her camp started shaping up.
Conservative consultant Luke Macias said he'd heard that a half-dozen House Republicans already pledged to back Thompson for the leadership position. Macias listed former Speaker Tom Craddick of Midland and State Reps. Drew Darby of San Angelo, Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, Jay Dean of Longview, Pat Curry of Waco and Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi as Republicans who may have committed to Thompson.
State Rep. Eddie Morales of Eagle Pass said Thompson had alleviated concerns that he and other Democrats in border districts had expressed.
"After a meaningful and substantial conversation with Dean Thompson and her team, I have full confidence that the needs of our rural and border communities will be met under her speakership," Morales said in a post on X. "Texans delivered a mandate for change and the Texas House Democratic Caucus is united heading into the 90th Legislative Session. Let’s get to work and hit the ground running!"
Thompson - the longest serving House Democrat nearing the end of her 56th year as a member - announced on Thursday that she had a sufficient number of colleagues on board with her campaign to win the gavel in the leadership election in January. A House member needs at least 76 votes to claim the top job in a chamber with 150 members. .
If Morales is on the mark, Thompson could have all of the Democrats in her corner in a chamber that Texas voters turned blue in Tuesday's midterm election along with a U.S. Senate seat, the governor's office and all of six other statewide posts that were on the midterm ballot. Democrats flipped two congressional districts, four state Supreme Court posts and three spots on the Court of Criminal Appeals in an election that raised the bar on blowout to unfathomable heights.
Thompson named a coalition of House Democrats to advise her in the transition from longtime member to speaker. The Thompson team features State Reps. Ramon Romero of Fort Worth, Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio, Ana-Maria Rodriguez Ramos of Dallas, Yvonne Davis of Dallas, Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, Ron Reynolds of Missouri City, John Bryant of Dallas and Christina Morales of Houston.
Thompson could be the first House speaker in decades to have the advantage of winning the gavel without the need for support from the opposing party's representatives. None of the five Republicans who've served as speaker in two dozen years of GOP rule in the Legislature's lower chamber were able to win the post without some degree of support from Democrats.
Current Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock will see his reign end after only one term. The House Democrats carried Burrows into the position after the GOP caucus nominee scored more voters from fellow Republicans at the start of the regular session in 2025.
more to come ...
I am honored to have secured the support of this growing bipartisan coalition of 90 Members. I look forward to leading the Texas House as Speaker. #txlege https://t.co/5cdjeUBJt6
