Texas House Republicans who hope to oust Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, on Friday selected a consensus candidate to support as House leader when the Legislature convenes in January.
State Rep. David Cook of Mansfield, serving his second two-year term, emerged from several rounds of voting during a private meeting at an Austin barbecue restaurant, outlasting four other Republicans, including three who had more experience in the House.
Cook — whose Tarrant County district includes Fort Worth, Arlington, Burleson, Crowley and Mansfield — said his selection was “about a movement that will reshape Texas for the better.”
“Our goal remains clear: to reform the Texas House so that it truly reflects the will of the people. I will work tirelessly to solidify the support needed within our caucus and, after that, to unite the House in order to efficiently lead as speaker,” he said in a statement.
Phelan, blamed for the demise of conservative legislation during his two terms as speaker, has been targeted by his party’s right flank and barely survived a primary challenge earlier this year. Seen as vulnerable after the close race, Phelan also has been criticized for appointing Democrats to lead some committees.
“It’s a great day to be a Republican in Texas, finally,” said Mitch Little, who attended the gathering and is the Republican nominee for a vacant House seat after ousting Rep. Kronda Thimesch, R-Carrollton, in the primaries.
Phelan criticized the gathering as contrary to Republican Party rules, which call for a private meeting of all House Republicans to choose a speaker candidate after the November election. He also predicted Cook’s selection would be in vain.
“I proudly have the clear majority votes needed to be the Speaker today,” Phelan said in a statement, “and will have the clear majority support needed to become Speaker again come January,” when all 150 members of the House will select a leader on Jan. 14, the first day of the regular legislative session.
“Today’s gathering is little more than an orchestrated scheme to generate headlines and fuel social media clicks, driving our caucus headlong into unnecessary chaos,” Phelan said.
During Friday’s gathering, the speaker candidate with the fewest votes was dropped for the next round of voting. Reps. James Frank of Wichita Falls, Shelby Slawson of Stephenville and Tom Oliverson of Cypress were eliminated.
In the end, Cook faced Rep. John Smithee of Amarillo, who has served in the House since the mid-1980s. When no clear victor emerged, Smithee dropped out.
“I don’t think any of the candidates had a problem with any other candidates,” Smithee said shortly after the final vote. “I think we all would just agree we need to come out united. So it worked out.”
Smithee said he had been encouraged to run and entered the race for speaker “to give members a broader choice.”
“We had five candidates, and I think that we came out with a choice that we can all live with, and we all can support,” he said.
Participants said 45 Republicans — House members and candidates running for election in November — supported Cook, with three abstentions. There are currently 85 Republican members of the Texas House.
“What happened today is the majority of the Republican caucus have chosen a person that we believe should be the speaker,” said Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, “and we plan to support that person in December,” when Republicans will choose a speaker candidate.
Cook is a lawyer who graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University and Texas A&M University School of Law and is managing partner of the Harris Cook law firm, which he co-founded with state Sen. Chris Harris, who died in 2015.
Cook was mayor of Mansfield from 2008-21. He and his wife, Tonya Cook, have four adult children and five grandchildren.
