State Rep. Trent Ashby, R-Lufkin, and state Rep. Chris Paddie, R-Marshall.
Credit: Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneTwo Republicans declared their candidacies for speaker of the Texas House on Thursday, becoming the first from their party to enter the race.
State Reps. Trent Ashby of Lufkin and Chris Paddie of Marshall join two Democrats in seeking the gavel: Senfronia Thompson of Houston and Trey Martinez Fischer of San Antonio.
Candidates are vying to replace Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, who will retire after serving one term thanks to a political scandal last year.
Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, filed Friday to run for the gavel.