AUSTIN, Texas - Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said during a brief Monday news conference at the Capitol that he has the votes to become the next speaker of the Texas House.

Bonnen told reporters he has pledges from 109 of 150 House members. If that number holds, that’s enough to push him into the House’s top spot.

The announcement comes after four other speaker candidates dropped out of the race in the past 48 hours and endorsed Bonnen.

“We are here to let you know the speaker’s race is over,” Bonnen said during that Capitol press conference Monday afternoon.

If those votes hold, that's more than enough for him to win the House's top spot and replace retiring Speaker Joe Straus.

So what's that mean for the next session?

"Representative Bonnen is more conservative than Joe Straus, so we're unlikely to see the Progressive wing, or Centrist wing have much of an influence, but he's someone who clearly works well with the Straus team," said Mark Jones with Rice University's Baker Institute of Public Policy. "I think we're likely to see a bipartisan approach, but one that's a little more conservative than we saw in the Straus era." 

 

Bonnen, who's been in the house since 1997, chairs the tax writing committee, and says priority number one in the House will be public education funding.

 

"It is time Texas took on the challenge of fixing our broken school finance system, and the Texas House will be leading with all of us to get that done," Bonnen said.  

 

Jones also predicts the Texas House will discuss healthcare and transportation at length, and stay away from more polarizing issues like the so-called Bathroom Bill.

"That approach was effectively rejected by voters at the polls," Jones said.

Bonnen also rejected any notion that only Republicans would serve as committee chairs, and pledged to work with those who still haven't yet pledged to back him as Speaker.

"When the House stands together it does great things, and this Texas House is going to do great things," Bonnen said.

If elected, Bonnen will get a seat at the table as one of the big three members. He's clashed with another one of them, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, in the past.

As of Monday evening, Patrick, Governor Greg Abbott, and Speaker Straus all issued congrulatory statments to Bonnen.