Next Republican Texas Speaker May Be Elected With the Help of Democrats

The Texas showdown between conservative Republicans and more moderate party members who want to work with Democrats will be determined on Jan. 14 when the state House of Representatives votes on a new speaker. Rep. David Cook and his challenger in the race, fellow Republican Rep. Dustin Burrows, have been in a stalemate after a majority of Republican lawmakers voted in favor of Cook for speaker at a December meeting. Burrows was among 26 Republicans who didn’t agree with the vote and left the meeting. The same day, Burrows announced that he had secured the bipartisan support of 38 Democrats and 38 Republicans in the 150-member chamber and declared himself the winner....