In an open letter to Texas Democrats in the state legislature, former Democratic Caucus chair Trey Martinez Fischer believes Democrats will have a chance to wield power despite being in the minority if they will only unify.
“I have listened to friends and colleagues who tell us that Democratic unity never works and there is the quick reference to failed efforts in 2019 to do that,” his letter reads. “Yes, they have a point, however, context matters. Republicans were united in 2019 and in 2021 and that unity gave an incentive for 30ish Democrats to join the winning side. That is not present today. I have never seen this much Republican division in my 12 terms.”
Martinez Fischer is referring to the intraparty squabbles dominating the Texas Republican Party over the last two election cycles. Currently, they are in a fight to determine the new Speaker of the House after the last speaker, Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont), was ousted following attacks from Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton. Despite delivering a verifiable wish list of conservative legislation in 2023, Phelan was attacked by the far-right for not helping school vouchers pass the lower chamber or stopping the impeachment of Paxton for misuse of office.
The power vacuum has led to a deadlocked race in the Republican caucus between Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) and David Cook (R-Fort Worth). Cook, seen as the more conservative candidate, claimed a majority in the Texas GOP caucus vote last month, but not the 60 votes needed for unanimous support. Burrows has stayed in the fight thanks to claimed bipartisan support from Texas Democrats.
“If the 88 [Republicans] can’t produce a 76-member majority– well, then that’s on them,” Martinez Fischer says. “And if for some reason if they can’t muster a majority, I will reiterate, the Speaker’s race is a game of math.”
It’s only the first of many fights to come. Abbott intends to try to pass school vouchers again, backed by money from far-right oil and gas moguls Tum Dunn and Farris Wilks as well as Pennsylvania billionaire Jeff Yass. He was thwarted in 2023 by rural House Republicans, who teamed with Democrats to stop the state for paying for private schools, most of which are in wealthy urban and suburban districts, because they worried it would drain funding from their local schools. Abbott now claims he has the votes to pass the measure, but the fight definitely will continue.
Martinez Fischer is a longtime advocate of united opposition from Democrats, though his record on actually using it remains mixed at best. He was elected leader of the Democrats in 2023, but saw little success in stopping the conservative juggernaut of far-right legislation. Devastating losses in the 2024 election ultimately doomed his leadership position, and he was replaced by Gene Wu (D-Houston) for the upcoming session.
Is the division on the right enough for Democrats to be able to leverage some level of power? Hard to say. Being accused of working with Democrats at all has been a potent primary challenge tool against Texas Republicans in recent cycles, even if it does actually get needed legislation passed. Martinez Fischer says Democrats can use the schism to their advantage.
“If our power is worthy enough to elect a Speaker of the House, then our power is worthy enough to meaningfully participate as a member of the leadership team by the same manner and means that our fellow Republicans do,” Martine Fischer said.