Amarillo Republican Rep. John Smithee became the fifth person to enter the race for Texas House Speaker when he announced his candidacy Friday.

Republicans will meet privately after the November election to choose their speaker candidate for the next legislative session.

Mansfield Republican David Cook said this week that he intends to run for Texas House Speaker, becoming the third person to challenge the chamber’s current leader, Beaumont Republican Dade Phelan.

Amarillo Republican Rep. John Smithee became the seventh person to enter the race for Texas House speaker when he announced his candidacy Friday.

Rodríguez Ramos faces an uphill battle, as Democrats are the minority party with 64 seats in the 150-member Texas House.

Rep. Ana-Maria Ramos is the first Democrat to challenge Speaker Dade Phelan, who also faces opposition from 5 fellow Republicans.