House Speaker Dade Phelan announced on Friday that he will not run for another term as Speaker. This comes after he narrowly won a long, heated, and expensive runoff race in against David Covey for State Representative in May.
Phelan, 48, and a Beaumont Republican currently serving his fifth term, had previously said he had the votes to become Speaker again. But now says differently.
The Texas Tribune reports Phelan saying, “Out of deep respect for this institution and its members, and after careful consideration and private consultation with colleagues, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the race for Speaker of the Texas House,” he said in a statement. “By stepping aside, I believe we create the best opportunity for our members to rally around a new candidate who will uphold the principles that make our House one of the most exceptional, deliberative legislative bodies in the country—a place where honor, integrity, and the right of every member to vote their district takes utmost precedent.”
Phelan abandoned the race one day before a scheduled meeting where Republicans are set to pick their nominee for the gavel, according to the Tribune.
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