Democrat Majority Defeats Republican Nominee David Cook

On Tuesday, the long-awaited and highly contentious race for Speaker of the Texas House came to a disappointing conclusion for advocates of small government and fiscal responsibility. A majority of Democrat House members were able to secure a victory over the Republican nominee, Rep. David Cook (R-Mansfield), by allying with a smaller group of Republicans and championing Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock). This is, of course, despite the fact that the Texas House contains an overwhelming Republican majority. 

Understanding the final vote of 85 for Burrows, 55 for Cook, 9 abstentions and 1 absent member, requires a substantial degree of context. For decades, Establishment Republicans have maintained control over the lower chamber by nominating a more moderate, liberal Republican member to solicit the support of Democrats through deals and concessions, such as the appointing of Democratic members to chair consequential committees. In doing so, the uniparty Establishment has been able to kill numerous effective and authentically conservative pieces of legislation. The previous House Speaker, Dade Phelan, epitomized this pattern of ignoring the will of Texas voters in favor of lobbyists, special interests. 

These actions, of course, prompted a grassroots conservative movement to enact reforms. After nearly losing his primary re-election, as well as state-wide outcry and admonishment, Dade Phelan was forced out of his bid to reclaim the Speaker’s gavel. While certainly a setback, the Austin Establishment was undeterred, and immediately propped up Dustin Burrows, a longtime loyal Phelan acolyte, as his presumed successor. 

On December 7th, the grassroots choice, David Cook, faced off against Burrows for the official House Republican Caucus nomination. After three rounds of voting, Cook came out victorious. Disappountly, Dustin Burrows and many of his supporters immediately walked out on the caucus and sought out support from Democrat members, cutting a deal that reportedly entailed Burrows continuing to appoint Democrat committee chairs and backing off of numerous Republican priorities, including school choice and eliminating taxpayer-funded lobbying. 

Following the Republican caucus vote which officially nominated Cook at teh Republican nominee, Burrows declared himself the presumed “Speaker-elect.” He released a list of 76 alleged supporters, including 38 Republicans and 38 Democrats. Embarrassingly, numerous House members included on the list came out afterwards to announce that they had never committed to supporting Burrows. Regardless, he continued to insist upon his impending victory in advertisements and fundraising communications. 

Inevitably, Burrows’ attempt to secure the Speakership through collaboration with Democrats proved successful. With 49 Democrats and 36 Republicans, Burrows triumphed over David Cook, who received the support of 52 Republicans and 3 Democrats. 

Effectively, the Democrat Party has, in a public way never before seen, secured the Speakership, and there can be little doubt that Dustin Burrows will reciprocate their support with concessions and compromise that will destroy conservative policy. 

Burrows’ victory will cause struggles for fiscal conservatives and their goals of eliminating property taxes, taxpayer funded lobbying, and ever-increasing government spending. Additionally, Dustin’s hostility towards school choice is another major blow to the Republican Legislative Priorities. His probable appointment of Democrat committee chairs will allow big-government politicians to kill important policies that could change Texas for the better by restoring accountability and fiscal sanity to the Lone Star State.

While this loss will certainly make the path forward more difficult than the alternative, the grassroots remain undeterred and invigorated to further combat the surviving elitist club-mentality plaguing the State House. The sheer number of Republican legislators that launched what was essentially a protest vote to the uniparty consensus can, in and of itself, be considered a major victory. 

Texas voters are paying closer attention than ever before to state-level politics, and they are more inclined than ever to hold their elected officials accountable. 

Do not be discouraged. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility will continue working in Austin to enact authentically conservative policy for the prosperity of Texas. Setbacks like these only mean that we fight harder than ever for what we believe in. We are dedicated to pursuing pro-taxpayer and pro-family reforms that will help get Texas back on track. 

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