State Rep. Senfronia Thompson announced on November 6, 2026, that she has secured enough pledges to become the next speaker of the Texas House of Representatives when the Legislature convenes in January 2027.
Thompson told reporters at the Texas Capitol that a majority of the 150-member chamber had committed to her candidacy, according to The Texas Tribune. Her announcement followed a midterm election that handed Democrats their first House majority since 2003.
Hours before her press conference, state Rep. Eddie Morales Jr. dropped his bid for the post and endorsed her. Thompson subsequently released a list of 90 current and incoming lawmakers backing her bid, comfortably exceeding the 76 votes required to win the gavel.
I am honored to have secured the support of this growing bipartisan coalition of 90 Members. I look forward to leading the Texas House as Speaker,
Senfronia Thompson, state representative
Prominent figures backing her candidacy consist of Ramon Romero of Fort Worth and Barbara Gervin-Hawkins of San Antonio, who head the Mexican American Legislative Caucus and the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, respectively. Representatives including John Bryant, Yvonne Davis, and Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos of Dallas, Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio, Christina Morales of Houston, and Ron Reynolds of Missouri City also provided support.
First elected in 1972, Thompson represents Houston’s 141st State House District and holds the title of Dean of the House. If her coalition holds through the January vote, she will succeed Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows of Lubbock and become the first woman and the first Black lawmaker to serve as Texas House speaker.
Affectionately known as “Ms. T” around the Capitol, she would become the first woman and the first Black lawmaker to lead the Texas House. When Thompson first entered the legislature, the Voting Rights Act was barely seven years old, and she was one of only two Black women in the lower chamber of the Legislature.
Thompson’s speakership forms part of a lineup in Texas state government. Alongside her, Gina Hinojosa was elected governor and Vikki Goodwin was elected as lieutenant governor.
Texas will have its first all-female “Big Three” — governor, lieutenant governor and House speaker. While Hinojosa and Goodwin serve in a Senate where Republicans hold 19 of 31 seats, Thompson will manage a newly minted Democratic majority in the lower chamber.
At her Capitol appearance, Thompson stood alongside several prominent Republican lawmakers, including Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi, Charlie Geren of Fort Worth, and Drew Darby of San Angelo. She expressed an intent to reverse recent rules that barred the minority party from holding committee gavels.
Darby told reporters he was encouraged by her focus on bipartisanship.
Thompson identified health care and education as areas she wanted to focus on. In interviews following her announcement, she also expressed opposition to private school voucher programs and voiced support for expanding gambling and ensuring property tax relief benefits renters.
The official House vote for speaker is scheduled for January 12, 2027, on the first day of the 90th legislative session, when the chamber swears in its lawmakers, decides on session rules, and elects its new leader.
