State Rep. Four Price files to run for Texas House speaker

State Rep. Four Price, R-Amarillo, filed Thursday for speaker of the Texas House, making him the sixth Republican to enter an already crowded race to replace the retiring House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio.

"Having successfully worked for the last four sessions with my colleagues from across our state to pass major legislation and focus on issues of importance to all Texans, I am eager to seek this leadership position in the Texas House of Representatives," he said in a statement. "Looking towards the future, I truly believe the Texas House will play a leading role in making the decisions that keep Texas on the path to prosperity."

Price enters a speaker’s race that already includes Republicans Tan Parker of Flower Mound, Phil King of Weatherford, John Zerwas of Richmond, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches and Drew Darby of San Angelo, as well as Democrat Eric Johnson of Dallas.

Ahead of the next regular session, House Republicans agreed to select a speaker in their caucus and then vote as a bloc on the floor. Prior to the March 6 primaries, House Republicans pushed incumbents and candidates to sign a form promising to ultimately support the caucus pick. While Parker, Price and King have signed the form, Zerwas and Clardy and Darby have not.

Straus announced in October that he did not plan to run for re-election in 2018. Texas House members traditionally select a speaker on the first day of a legislative session. The next regular session will begin in January 2019.

Price, an attorney, is serving his fourth term in the House. He’s the chairman of the House Public Health, Health & Human Services Transition Oversight and Opioids and Substance Abuse Select Committees. He’s also a member of the Natural Resources and General Investigating and Ethics Committees.