Texas Democrats have chosen Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, to chair the House Democratic Caucus for the 2025 legislative session. Wu, who will begin his seventh term in the House next year, defeated incumbent Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, on Wednesday for the party leadership position.
Wu likely has insight into what it takes to steer the party, according to Rep. Chris Turner, D-Grand Prairie, a former caucus chair himself who shares a desk with Wu on the House floor.
The job of the caucus chairman is to, “bring the caucus together, to facilitate open and honest conversation within the caucus, and to reach consensus on any number of things,” said Turner, who held the position from 2017 to 2022.
Turner said the role involves making sure the party has a cohesive political strategy – an essential element for Democrats, who are a minority in the chamber. When lawmakers reconvene in January, Democrats will hold 62 seats to Republicans 88.
Another important part of the caucus chair position is working across the aisle with Republican leadership in the House.
“Sometimes you find things you can work together on or reach a compromise. Other times, it's just no, it's going to be a fight,” Turner told The Texas Newsroom.
The extent of that fight will depend heavily on who is chosen as House Speaker. That leadership role has been held by Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, since 2021. While Phelan hopes to wield the speaker’s gavel again in 2025, he’s rankled fellow Texas Republicans and faces a tough challenge for the position from Rep. David Cook of Mansfield.
In 2023, he won the seat with 145 votes. But his fellow Republicans have called him out for being too friendly with Democrats and a growing number are now looking to replace him. On Saturday, the House GOP Caucus meets to determine who they plan to throw their support behind for the role.
Why this matters for the race to be Texas’ next House Speaker
Only two House Democrats refused to vote for Phelan in 2023. In fact, a Texas House Speaker being chosen without support from both parties in a chamber where both Democrats and Republicans held seats is unlikely.
That is likely what’ll happen again this year. Speaking at a Texas Tribune event earlier this week, Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, said Republicans are calling Democratic representatives in order to try and help secure votes for their preferred House Speaker.
“Even the folks who are like, ‘Oh my goodness, we don't want to work with Democrats,’ have been reaching out to Democrats,” Zwiener said.
If true, that means Republicans in the Texas House aren’t set on who they will choose, leaving a path for a speaker to be elected with a majority of their support coming from the chamber’s Democrats. (It takes 76 votes to become speaker, Democrats hold 62 seats, leaving only 14 seats that a Republican would need to meet the threshold.)
The chamber will make its final selection when the Texas Legislature reconvenes on Jan. 14.
Turner said, by then, “generally speaking, I would expect, you know, Democrats to be mostly on the same page.” That’s something Rep. Gene Wu, will undoubtedly have a role in as the new chair the House Democratic Caucus.
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