March 21, 2024      5:05 PM

Oliverson announcement signals to some top Republicans that Lt. Gov. Patrick is ramping up his effort to select the next Texas House Speaker

Rep. Oliverson, who shares a political consultant with Patrick, says he has not talked to the Senate’s presiding officer about this; Speaker Phelan says the timing is “inappropriate” and “I know who his neighbor is. His neighbor is Dan Patrick.”

Saying he will prioritize "school choice" and elimination of Democratic Chairmen, Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress, on Thursday announced he is running for Speaker of the Texas House. With Speaker Dade Phelan in a runoff for reelection in Southeast Texas, other names have of course already been floated as potential speaker candidates.

But Oliverson’s moves Thursday took many House members by surprise, leading one to tell Quorum Report that “this feels kind of out of left field.” Some Republican members, though, including Speaker Phelan, agreed with your humble correspondent that it’s not difficult to figure out who would be behind Oliverson’s sudden candidacy.

Oliverson, who has the same political consultant as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and lives 30 feet from the Texas Senate's presiding officer in the Houston area, told reporters in Austin that he has not spoken with Patrick about this.

During a morning news conference, Oliverson laid out his case.

By Scott Braddock

Copyright March 21, 2024, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved