In Dade Phelan's bid for Texas House speaker, trust was key

Phelan was a prominent lieutenant of current House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, whose handling of the 2019 legislative session was popular before scandal brought him down.

State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, held a press conference at the Capitol in early November to declare that he had enough votes to become speaker of the House. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, held a press conference at the Capitol in early November to declare that he had enough votes to become speaker of the House. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune

When Dade Phelan rolled out a list this month of Texas House members backing his bid to become the next speaker, the chamber’s wide and oftentimes complicated ideological spectrum was on full display.

The list included Briscoe Cain, a Deer Park Republican hailing from the most conservative faction of the GOP. It included Senfronia Thompson, a Houston Democrat serving as the Legislature’s longestser…