Cook, David
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State Rep. David Cook is looking to become the next Texas Speaker of the House.
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Cook represents District 96 which serves Tarrant County.
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Cook will face opposition from Dustin Burrows within the party to become the next speaker.
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State Rep. David Cook is looking to become the next Texas Speaker of the House.
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Cook represents District 96 which serves Tarrant County.
-
Cook will face opposition from Dustin Burrows within the party to become the next speaker.
When the next session of the Texas House starts in January, a new House Speaker will be chosen.
Dade Phelanon, the current speaker of the House, declared on Friday that he will not be running for a third term.
Rep. David Cook, a Republican from North Texas, is one of the leading candidates.
Cook, who represents District 96 in the House of Representatives, is about to begin his third term.
In Tarrant County, Cook’s district includes Arlington, Burleson, Crowley, Fort Worth, Kennedale, Mansfield, and Rendon.
Cook, who practiced law before entering the State House race, was the mayor of Mansfield from 2008 until 2021.
Cook has been considering running for House Speaker for months, even before Phelan declared he would not run for the position.
Cook is promoting the need for a single Republican speaker, even though Phelan was elected twice with nearly unanimous votes and Cook’s support.
READ MORE: Who will serve as the next Speaker of the Texas House?
Nonetheless, Phelan’s tenure as speaker was criticized by many party members.
Phelan’s actions during recent sessions, such as not advancing Gov. Abbott’s school voucher plan, pushing a different tax cut plan in the House than Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and the House impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton—which resulted in an acquittal in the Texas Senate—have frequently caused him to clash with Texas Republican leaders.
Cook claimed to have the backing of almost half of House Republicans before the November election, positioning himself to challenge Phelan in January.
“As we continue our campaign for Speaker, some in our [Texas GOP Caucus] would STILL rather cut a deal with Democrats than unify with Republicans first,” Cooks stated in November. “It’s time for us to UNITE and prioritize our caucus and the voters who put us here.”
It would take a unanimous majority of House Republicans to advance Cook to the position of speaker.
When the next session starts in January, the party will control 88 of the 150 seats in the parliament.
To become speaker, a candidate must receive 76 votes in the House.
Come January, Cook will probably face some resistance as Republican Representative Dustin Burrows is predicted to sway some members of the party away from Cook.
In recent days, two of Cook’s supporters have openly reaffirmed their support on social media.
Incoming Representative Mike Olcott declared, “I am fully committed to Republican leadership for Republican voters.” “I will not allow the Democrats to once again control our speaker.”
In January, Olcott will be among the new members of the Texas House. Due to his support of the school voucher scheme, he was one of 15 candidates whom Governor Greg Abbott backed.
Abbott s school voucher plan now has more than enough support
Governor Greg Abbott is prepared to reintroduce his school voucher program. He has a lot more support this time.
“Don’t even bother calling me,” said Shelley Luther, the new representative. “When it comes to choosing the Republican House Speaker, I will not support the Democrats. Ride or Die [David Cook] is who I am.
Another new member of the House is Luther. In primary contests against Republicans who voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, she was one of the candidates he supported.
On January 14, 2025, the upcoming Texas legislature will convene. The House speaker is elected before the session starts.
To vote on their nominee, the Republican House Caucus members must convene prior to the start of the session. To receive the party’s endorsement, a candidate must receive the support of at least 60% of the members.
The Origin:This article’s information is based on social media posts about X and the Texas Legislature as well as earlier Fox 4 reporting.
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