State House member Warren Chisum (R-Pampa) says he has collected a enough signatures to force the Republican caucus to take a vote on who will be the next House Speaker.
In a e-mail statement released this morning, Rep. Chisum says the party needs the caucus to meet to select "one conservative candidate" for Speaker of the House.
"The voters of Texas have elected a strong overwhelming majority of Republicans to the Texas House of Representatives. We need to respond to the will of the voters and work together to select a single Republican nominee for Speaker," he said in the e-mail.
Rep. Chisum says the GOP caucus rules require its chair to call a meeting within seven days after receiving a request with 10 signatures. He says Representatives Allen Fletcher, Dan Flynn, Kelly Hancock, Rick Hardcastle, Charlie Howard, Phil King, Geanie Morrison, Debbie Riddle, Randy Weber will join him on the request.
He will turn the letter over on December 29th. The caucus vote would have to take place by January 5th. Current Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) is believed to have enough Republican votes, along with virtually all of the remaining Democrats, to remain speaker.
