Rep. Michelle Gray, R-Melbourne, said Thursday that she has withdrawn from the House speaker's race for the 2019-21 term and she's backing Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, for the position.
Davis said Gray's endorsement gives him momentum in the race with Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado. Representatives will choose a House speaker designate at the end of the fiscal session that starts in February. Davis also said some people will now feel more comfortable making a commitment one way or the other.
The race "is pretty close and it's too far away right now to say anyone has 51 votes," said Davis, who has served in the House since 2013 and is chairman of the House Rules Committee. The House speaker for 2019-21 will be formally elected by the 100-member House on the first day of the regular session in 2019. The House usually anoints the speaker designate as its speaker. All the candidates must survive the November 2018 general election.
Shepherd, who has served in the House since 2011 and is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he doesn't think that Gray's support for Davis changes much in the speaker's race, and he's pleased with his progress so far.
"I believe that I'm over that threshold," he said when asked if he has at least 51 committed votes to be House speaker. "I have to take people at their word. ... Until the vote is taken, you can't say it is locked up."
Gray, who has served in the House since 2015, said she believes that her endorsement of Davis "shakes up a little bit" the House speaker's race. She said she also doesn't think either Davis or Shepherd has lined up 51 votes for the post. "You don't want to count the chickens before they hatch."
She said she and Davis have the same vision to unite the House and put "all politics aside," govern responsibly and bring respect to the House.
Davis "has not promised me any position" in exchange for supporting him, Gray said. She said she has the utmost respect for Shepherd and "it is nothing against him personally."
Rep. Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, has served as House speaker since 2015 and has said he's not seeking re-election to his House term next year. He said he's "neutral" in the race for his successor and he declined handicap the race to be his replacement.
In January, the House approved new rules to give future House speakers the authority to make committee assignments, beyond their current authority to appoint only the committee chairmen. The rules change scrapped the House's old system of letting members, on the basis of seniority, choose their committee assignments. The House approved these new rules after the House Democrats gained 10 of the 20 seats on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee. The chamber has 76 Republicans and 24 Democrats.
NW News on 09/23/2017