UPDATE:
Texas Democrats are calling State House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s announcement that he won’t seek re-election a victory for transparency and accountability.
The pressure mounted on Speaker Bonnen to step down after a secret recording released last week showed Bonnen offering press credentials to conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan in exchange for helping oust 10 moderate Republicans who opposed Bonnen. Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilbert Hinojosa said, “What you saw here was not only a backroom deal, but conduct that we believe was illegal and in violation of state law [and] that the Attorney General should be the first to prosecute.”
Hinojosa said Texans are tired of these backroom deals and outright lies and that today’s announcement won’t end the scandal, “There’s a District Attorney in his home county that has opened up an investigation. I know that at some point the Travis County District Attorney is going to take a look at it. This is far from over.” Texas Democrats believed Bonnen violated State Campaign finance laws. The Texas Rangers are currently investigating.
ORIGINAL:
Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen will not seek re-election.
In a written statement Speaker Bonnen said “after much prayer, consultation and thoughtful consideration with my family, it is clear I can no longer seek re-election as State Representative District 25. More than 30 House Republicans have said they no longer support him and some have called for his resignation after he was heard on a secret recording calling for a conservative group to target several sitting Republican lawmakers in the 2020 primaries.
