(C) Texas Tribune This story was originally published by Texas Tribune and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Blast: How political newcomers would change the House [1] [] Date: 2024-05 With the shift in the status quo that’s expected to come following this year’s explosive Republican primary, dedicated primary voters — and apparently debate moderators — want to know how the new kids think the House should be run. Whoever wins the Texas House District 97 Republican primary runoff is expected to succeed state Rep. Craig Goldman, a Fort Worth Republican who recently stepped back as House Republican Caucus chair amid his own primary runoff for Congress. The district will change hands from the top ranks of House leadership to a political newcomer who could shape the inner workings of the chamber for the foreseeable future. Last night’s HD-97 Republican debate focused heavily on the politics of the chamber and on the “Contract with Texas.” Cheryl Bean and John McQueeney each had tweaks to House practices to propose but disagreed on the document signed by over two dozen Republican candidates and incumbents who oppose House Speaker Dade Phelan. Bean mentioned in her opening statement that she supports the “contract.” But it didn’t take long for the topic to come up again, as debate moderator and Texas Christian University professor Grant Ferguson asked about it in his first question. Bean said she opposes allowing a “liberal Obama attorney to head the parliamentary committee.” There is no House parliamentary committee, but she was undoubtedly referencing House Parliamentarian Hugh Brady, who is a House employee, not an elected Democrat. McQueeney took the opportunity to clarify that he supports ending the practice of appointing Democrats as committee chairs. Republican voters have shown they want that to end, he said. “Previous leadership has awarded Democrats chairmanships in order to keep them at the table,” McQueeney explained. “It is crystal clear we’ve had the majority long enough.” But on the broader Contract with Texas, McQueeney didn’t ascribe to every tenant. “My contract is with the voters of this district,” McQueeney said. “There’s a lot of things in the Contract with Texas that I absolutely support. There’s a lot of things in the Contract with Texas that I think would tie my hands walking into the Capitol in order to make sure that we have got a speaker that will represent our party and a speaker that will allow conservative agenda items to happen.” The document proposes 12 reforms, including stripping Democrats of committee chairmanships, replacing House parliamentarians and only soliciting support for the speakership from Republican members. The “contract” also calls for limiting the speaker to two terms, allowing video recordings of point of order debates and prohibiting the speaker from distributing political funds. Ferguson also asked each candidate whether they support Phelan for speaker. McQueeney said he’s not focused on the speaker’s race. “I’m going to vote for a speaker that will ensure that we can get the most conservative agenda across the finish line,” he continued. “One of the criteria that I will use in voting for that speaker to represent us is the banning of Democrat chairs.” “I personally think Dade Phelan has already shown his colors in how he handled the House in the last couple of sessions, so the answer is no, I will not support him,” Bean responded, “but I don’t really think we’re going to have to have that choice.” She also said there’s no reason the speaker should be “buying votes” by funding candidates’ campaigns. Both candidates also said they support closed primaries, another structural-type change that outgoing Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi and others are seeking. Of course, the debate dove into policy, including on election integrity. Both candidates tied election security to border security, saying migrants want to vote in American elections. Bean, specifically, said migrants are getting Social Security numbers and that that enables them to vote. Bean credited Attorney General Ken Paxton with keeping Texas red in recent elections. Paxton has endorsed Bean, as has Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. McQueeney, whose only top endorser is Gov. Greg Abbott, managed to work Paxton into his answer about school choice. “It’s disappointing that our Legislature wasted their time on an impeachment trial versus getting this across the finish line during the regular session,” McQueeney said. Bean took 49.6% in the March 5 primary while McQueeney took 29.6%. It’s a lot of ground for him to make up, but not an insurmountable one, and voters seem to be taking the primary — and the Contract with Texas — seriously. [END] --- [1] Url: https://mailchi.mp/texastribune/the-blast-how-political-newcomers-would-change-the-house Published and (C) by Texas Tribune Content appears here under this condition or license: Used with Permission: https://www.texastribune.org/republishing-guidelines/. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/texastribune/