Democrats in the Texas House will swap in a new leader for the 89th Legislative Session, replacing San Antonio state House Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio).
Martinez Fischer took over as chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus in 2023, but faced several challengers in his leadership race this year.
On Wednesday night, members of his party ultimately chose state House Rep. Gene Wu (D-Houston) to lead their political strategy through a tough upcoming session, according to the Quorum Report.
“I wish Chairman Wu all the success and I look forward to continuing to work with him and all the members of the House Democratic Caucus,” Martinez Fischer said in statement.
When lawmakers return to work in January, the Texas House will have lost a number of moderate Republicans who were replaced by more conservative alternatives in the primary.
They’ll have to revisit the school voucher fight Democrats united to shut down in the last session, plus a long list of other GOP priorities that could be helped by the changing House landscape.
Democrats had hoped to pick up several seats in the November election to offset the loss of some moderate GOP allies who helped them oppose school vouchers.
Instead, Republicans grew their majority, and held onto two fiercely contested San Antonio-area seats.
Republicans also face a messy leadership battle, as conservatives seek to replace the sitting House Speaker Dade Phelan with someone who will cut Democrats out of the legislating process by not appointing Democrats as committee chairs.
Two San Antonio-area Republicans, Mark Dorazio and Marc LaHood, have said they plan to support one of Phelan’s challengers.
