Houston Rep. Gene Wu to lead Texas House Democrats through GOP-dominated legislative session

BY RENZO DOWNEY
DEC. 5, 2024
6 HOURS AGO

Making the case for better “external communication,” Gene Wu defeated incumbent Trey Martinez Fischer on Thursday to become the next chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.

Until just this week, it seemed like Martinez Fischer of San Antonio would be reelected to the role. Democrats weren’t all happy with the direction of the caucus the last two years, but leading the minority is a hard role to play. On Monday, Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos of Richardson said the progressive caucus would be backing Rep. John Bryant of Dallas, who entered the race last week.

Snip

Wu, a former Harris County prosecutor who will be entering his seventh term in the Legislature, has been an antagonistic critic of Republicans, both on the House floor and on social media. He’s trolled Republicans on X and posted daily video updates from the legislative session on Reddit, sometimes with a glass of whiskey on display.

Snip

When the Legislature convenes in January, Republicans will control 88 seats while Democrats will control 62, their weakest position since after the 2016 election.

More