The Texas GOP Civil War Is Getting Weird
The Texas GOP Civil War Is Getting Weird
Cowboys, lobbyists, and power struggles—the GOP showdown begins.
As we inch closer to the election, Texas House Republicans are back at the infighting, and their squabble is seemingly centered on who will be the next Speaker of the House. There are more Republicans who have thrown their hat into the Speaker’s race, and Dade Phelan pulls out the big guns. He’s tapped former Governor Rick Perry to be his senior advisor.
In a press release this week, Phelan said, “Governor Perry, who began his political career in the Texas House of Representatives and went on to serve as the 47th Governor of Texas for 14 years, will advise the Speaker and his team in a voluntary capacity until the start of the 89th Texas Legislature.”
You’re thinking: Rick Perry? What the heck is he doing, and where has he been?
A 2023 Axios article said he was laying low on his ranch and living with two “college friends.” It also spoke about his want for legalized gambling and his love for fossil fuels. Otherwise, the last time we heard from Rick Perry was back in 2021, when he was pushing for a bill that would legalize psychedelic drugs for veterans with PTSD.
It’s weird, right?
For all his flaws, Rick Perry is a different type of Republican than many current Republicans. Rick Perry, Tom DeLay, Clayton Williams…you know, yesteryear Republicans. Of course, they were all actually from Texas, opposed to this newer breed of Republican:
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick ramped up his attacks against Speaker Phelan this last week, putting out lengthy statements and calling him names.
RINORAD. Dan Patrick made that name up for Dade Phelan—almost as funny as “poopy pants.” The statement is long and full of misinformation. Patrick wrote a second lengthy statement a few days later (again, long and full of misinformation).
This last week was also the one-year anniversary of the Paxton impeachment trial. Ken Paxton posted about it on social media, saying that it was some milestone to be relished and that multiple Republican influencers were re-posting and saying, “Never forget.” Like it was the fucking Alamo 🙄.
All of this has fanned the flames of GOP hatred toward Speaker Phelan.
Did Phelan recruit Rick Perry to bring unity to the GOP Civil War, or is Perry supposed to be the knife to stab the other side in the back?
One thing is for sure: Phelan is still running for Speaker.
This last week, another House Republican declared his nomination for Speaker, Representative David Cook. So, now there are four Republicans who are running to be Speaker of the Texas House:
Dade Phelan (Beaumont area)
Tom Oliverson (Harris County)
Shelby Slawson (Rural Central Texas)
David Cook (Mansfield/Tarrant County)
It’s fascinating because this is the first time in 50 years that more than two candidates have run for Speaker.
Phelan survived a hell of a primary race, during which millions of dollars were spent to oust him. The other side is spearheaded by Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton and funded mainly by Tim Dunn.
Without getting too much into the details, it’s essential to know:
Phelan feels empowered right now.
Paxton blames Phelan for impeaching him.
Patrick is blaming Phelan for specific bills not being passed.
Actually, Phelan did everything to the letter of the law.
Despite the multiple draconian bills that passed the Texas House in the last few sessions, Phelan is being targeted and called a “secret Democrat” because of Paxton and Patrick’s pettiness. This has split Republicans in the Texas House into warring factions. This is why there are so many Republicans running for the position of Speaker.
How is the Speaker chosen?
The majority of the House members choose the Speaker. They vote on it at the beginning of the Session. Currently, the makeup of the Texas House is 86 (R), 63 (D), and one vacant. (The vacant is a safe, rural, red district.)
We did have 64 Democrats until anti-LGBTQ Representative Shawn Theirry switched sides. But since Lauren Ashley Simmons has already beaten Thierry in the primary in HD-147 and is in a safe blue seat, she’ll be taking Thierry’s place, giving us 64 seats again.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that in November, after the election, Republicans still have the majority (76+); they need 76 votes for a speaker out of 150, so they need a majority of Republicans to vote on the Speaker. That’s a problem if different factions in the Republican Party are warring and can’t come together for a vote. That’s where the Democrats come in.
Unless Republicans unite under one Speaker, they do not have the votes to elect any speaker without compromises and deals with the Democrats.
And that’s even if they still have the majority.
Texas Democrats need only 12 seats to flip the House. If they can do that, we can get a Democratic Speaker. Please vote.
What’s the difference between Phelan and the other three?
The only real difference is his willingness and openness to bipartisanship and working with Democrats. The other three stated they didn’t believe Democrats should have chairmanships in the House.
While some Republican activists have been pushing the GOP in the House not to allow any Democratic bills before all of the Republican bills have been passed, Phelan and Cook have explicitly stated that it was fair to have everyone’s bills heard. The other two Republicans have not said whether GOP bills would be prioritized or heard in a fair manner.
Back to the question: What is Dade Phelan trying to accomplish with Rick Perry? Is it to bring the Texas GOP together or to bomb their enemies?
Either way, the 89th Session is being set up to be explosive.
My thoughts on the Speaker’s race?
I’m an eternal optimist. I hope we flip the House. I’d love to see a House Democrat announce their intent to run for Speaker, as Democrats plan on flipping the Texas House.
I promise to give a detailed breakdown of the Speaker’s race after the election. 😉
Here are the Democrats who are running against the Republicans who want to be the next Speaker:
HD59 - Running against Shelby Slawson is Hannah Bohm (D).
HD96 - Ebony Turner (D) is running against David Cook.
HD130 - Running against Tom Oliverson is Brett Robinson (D).
Unfortunately, Speaker Dade Phelan (R-HD21) is running unopposed in November. (Let’s change that in 2026.)
Although Perry is no longer under indictment, it is strange that he’s getting back involved with state politics.
Dade Phelan also hired Mike Toomey as his Chief of Staff.
Toomey is a lobbyist and the former chief of staff for Rick Perry and Bill Clements. He’s another one of these old 1990s Republicans, long before Maga and the influx of out-of-staters moving here to get into politics.
Perhaps Phelan is recruiting these old giants to somehow get the House back to how it used to be, when Republicans got along but still steamrolled Democrats. For now, we can only speculate.
The Texas GOP is tearing itself apart like a reality TV show. We’ll all need popcorn for the 89th Session.
So, grab your boots, dust off your Texas pride, and for the love of all things Lone Star—don’t forget to vote.
Until then, we’ll just sit back and wait to see if Rick Perry’s next move involves poker chips, psychedelic veterans, or wrangling the Texas House. After all, in Texas politics, anything’s possible.
Vote early, vote often, just vote.
October 7: Last day to register to vote.
October 21: First day to early vote.
October 25: Last day to apply for a mail-in ballot.
November 1: Last day to early vote.
November 5: Election day!
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