The longest-serving woman and Black legislator in Texas history has secured support from 90 lawmakers ahead of January’s formal vote.
Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, 87, of Houston, is moving toward becoming the first Black person and first woman in the Texas state house to hold the speaker’s gavel.
The New York Times profiled Thompson on Nov. 9, days after she announced she had the votes to lead the house. Known as “Ms. T,” the Houston Democrat was elected in 1972 and has served since 1973. She is the longest-serving woman and Black legislator in Texas history.
Thompson said she had secured enough support on Nov. 6, three days after Democrats won a majority in the 150-member House for the first time since 2003. Her only rival for speaker, fellow Democrat Eddie Morales Jr., withdrew and endorsed her that day.
She later released a list of 90 supporters, including eight Republicans. A candidate needs 76 votes to secure a majority of the full House. The formal election will take place when lawmakers return to Austin in January.
On Nov. 10, Thompson named six former speakers to her transition team: Democrats Ben Barnes, Gib Lewis and Pete Laney, and Republicans Joe Straus, Dennis Bonnen and Dade Phelan. The group will advise her as she prepares to take over the chamber.
Thompson has pledged to appoint members of both parties to chair House committees, reviving a practice that ended under outgoing Republican Speaker Dustin Burrows. Lawmakers have highlighted education, health care and property taxes as major issues facing the next legislature.
Across more than five decades in office, Senfronia Thompson has advocated for people with little political influence, pushing for higher minimum wages, support for sexual abuse survivors and protections against anti-LGBTQ hate crimes. She has also earned respect from colleagues for insisting on civility during House debates.
Her election would place women in Texas’ three top political offices alongside Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa and Lt. Gov.-elect Vikki Goodwin, another first for the state.
The speakership is not official until the House votes on Jan. 12, 2027. If her coalition holds, Thompson would be the first Democrat to wield the gavel since Pete Laney’s tenure ended in 2003.
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