After a contentious battle that split Texas House Republicans, State Representative Dustin Burrows of Lubbock was elected Speaker. In the second round of voting, he defeated his fellow Republican David Cook of Mansfield,

Texas has a powerful new House speaker after years of escalating Republican infighting. Dustin Burrows won the job on Tuesday with the support of Democrats who favored him over a challenger backed by the GOP’s emboldened hard right.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who heads the Texas Senate, opposed Burrows’ run for Speaker. He has since released a statement saying both the house and senate are required to pass legislation and he’s “counting” on Burrows to pass conservative legislation.