Free Republic

Senator Dan Patrick said he will ask Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson for their support if he wins the Republican runoff for lieutenant governor Tuesday night. The last 11 weeks have been a brutal runoff between Patrick and Dewhurst, the incumbent, filled with negative ads and attacks.Patterson, a primary opponent of both men, released Patrick's 1980s mental health records earlier this month. Patrick called it a "low blow" and "shameful," blaming both Patterson and Dewhurst. Despite that, Patrick said Tuesday that they are "opponents, not enemies," and that he would still ask them for support...

The once promising political career of three term Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is expected to come to an end today, as challenger Dan Patrick is expected to defeat Dewhurst in today's Republican runoff, handing the Tea Party one of its biggest victories of the year, 1200 WOAI news reports.

There’s panic in some quarters of the Texas Republican Party. The movement conservatives are poised to strike a mighty blow in Tuesday’s runoff elections. If all goes well for these tea partiers and libertarians, they will be on the way to taking control of critical statewide offices and key seats in the Legislature. The list includes Dan Patrick for lieutenant governor and Ken Paxton for attorney general. The crowd already scored a victory in Dallas with businessman Don Huffines’ win over incumbent state Sen. John Carona. So how did this all happen? Republicans have had solid control over all parts...

Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has been one of the most powerful figures in Texas since 2002, but he could be ousted Tuesday by GOP voters who appear ready to steer the state even further to the right by backing tea party favorites over establishment candidates. Despite spending $5 million of his own fortune on his campaign, Dewhurst has struggled to gain ground on state Sen. Dan Patrick. A victory by Patrick, a fiery conservative talk radio host and founder of the Legislature’s tea party caucus, would complete the overhaul of every elected statewide office next year when Gov. Rick...

A tea party leader is favored to become Texas' lieutenant governor. A Ted Cruz-endorsed newcomer is inching closer to replacing Democrat Wendy Davis in the statehouse. On television, millions of dollars in attack ads have given established Republican incumbents all they can handle. For all the talk of Texas growing competitive for Democrats in 2016 and beyond, GOP voters are poised to make a harder turn right on Tuesday. Though the tea party has sputtered this year in elections around the country, Texas' conservative insurgents are the front-runners in Republican primary runoffs for major statewide offices and positioned to bolster...

Dan Patrick appears poised to dislodge David Dewhurst as lieutenant governor in Tuesday’s Republican runoff, and the reason is clear to tea party activists, campaign consultants and political scientists. Patrick, they say, jumped out front for good by appealing to staunchly conservative Republican voters on their top issue: illegal immigration. Breaking with the stances of Republicans such as Govs. George W. Bush and Rick Perry, who tried to appeal to Hispanic voters with hopeful rhetoric about immigrants, Patrick has ripped state GOP leaders for not plowing enough state funding into law enforcement efforts along the Texas-Mexico border. He also hit...

Dirty politics seems to be the name of the game in the Texas Lieutenant Governor race between David Dewhurst and Dan Patrick- from releasing confidential medical records to harassing and insulting push polling. One of the latest tricks in this campaign is a flyer received by Tea Party members all over the State touting Tea Party endorsements for David Dewhurst. The flyer was put out by a group called "The United Texas Tea Party". The catch? The United Texas Tea Party does not exist. No website, no registration, no Facebook page. At this point, Dewhurst supporters went from cheering the...

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has raised only about $1.6 million since late February, but lent himself nearly twice that while attempting to beat back a primary challenge from state Sen. Dan Patrick. Campaign finance records released Tuesday show Dewhurst collecting $1.65 million in donations from Feb. 23 to last week. That's far less than he'd promised to raise. Dewhurst also pumped $3 million of his own money into his campaign in April and May, after previously lending it $2 million. Including earlier loans, Dewhurst's campaign now is carrying nearly $5.4 million in debts.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst’s re-election campaign reported Monday that it has outstanding loans totaling more than $5.3 million, indicating that the incumbent lieutenant governor ponied up around $3 million out of pocket since the final week of February to try and beat Dan Patrick. That comes on top of $2 million that Dewhurst lent his campaign earlier in the cycle. Candidates in the May 27 runoff are facing a midnight deadline to file campaign finance reports with the Texas Ethics Commission. The full filings won’t be publicly available online until Tuesday morning — and that’s when we’ll know details about...

Texas voters slowly trickled into early voting locations Monday morning to cast their ballots in the run-off elections. The most heated election by far continues to be the fierce feud between incumbent Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and his challenger, state Sen. Dan Patrick. The contest exploded into fresh controversy at the end of last week with the release by a former rival of documents detailing Patrick's medical history during the 1980s. Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson has taken aim at Patrick since being defeated in the GOP primary. Over Thursday and Friday, Patterson released a series of documents from a lawsuit...

Lt. Gov David Dewhurst spoke with Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson two weeks ago about previously unearthed court documents involving state Sen. Dan Patrick – but said he advised against their dissemination back then for fear the move could backfire and damage his chances of winning reelection. Dewhurst, in an interview at his Austin campaign headquarters on the first day of early voting ahead of the May 27 runoff, disclosed that Patterson originally reached out weeks ago to discuss access to court filings that could damage Patrick's run for lieutenant governor. Those court documents were released to state media by Patterson...

State Sen. Dan Patrick has reported raising more than $4 million in the past two months as he tries unseating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in next week's GOP primary runoff. The tea party favorite from Houston said Monday that total only encompass contributions between Feb. 23 and this past weekend. Patrick reported spending $3.75 million on statewide media advertising and says he has $400,000 in cash on-hand remaining before the May 27 election. Early voting began Monday.

Dan Patrick and Julian Castro Immigration Debate http://kut.org/post/rewatch-dan-patrick-and-julian-castro-immigration-debate BY MATT LARGEY 4/15/2014 KUT.ORG State Senator and GOP Lt. Governor candidate Dan Patrick faced off against San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro in a televised debate over immigration tonight at 6pm. The debate was moderated by the Texas Tribune's Evan Smith.

PPP's newest Texas poll finds Republicans leading by double digits in all of the state's major races for 2014. In the Governor's race Greg Abbott's at 51% to 37% for Wendy Davis. ------snip----- There's been some thought that Democratic prospects might be better in the race for Lieutenant Governor but Leticia Van de Putte actually trails by slightly more than Davis, regardless of who her Republican opponent ends up being. Dan Patrick leads her by 16 points at 51/35. ------snip----- Although it hasn't really been on anyone's radar screen the likely US Senate match up between John Cornyn and David...

State Sen. Dan Patrick is no stranger to over-the-top statements about immigrants and immigration. The Houston-area Republican, who is the GOP’s leading candidate for lieutenant governor, told a group in 2006 that immigrants are “bringing Third World diseases with them,” referencing “tuberculosis, malaria, polio and leprosy.” (A top official at the Department of State Health Services had to slap that down, pointing out, for instance, there hasn’t been a case of polio in decades). When asked to address the issue of immigration at a forum of leading business groups during this campaign, Patrick chose to talk about violent crime, as...

SAN ANTONIO — Texas roadside megastore Buc-ee's found itself in between two political powerhouses Tuesday after the chain's owners offered their support to state Sen. Dan Patrick. Following a photo and announcement of the owners' support on Facebook Monday, Congressman Joaquin Castro said he would no longer shop at Buc-ee's “since they support a fear mongering immigrant basher.” “I am disappointed to learn that a popular and well-respected retailer would lend its corporate brand to a candidate for statewide office who has built his career around dividing Texans and bashing immigrants, solely for his own political gain,” Castro said in...

Less than 24-hours after Texas State Senator Dan Patrick released a video asserting his opposition to illegal immigration, the candidate for Texas Lt. Governor stands accused of having hired four illegal aliens in a bar he previously owned. Earlier today Sen. Patrick told the Weatherford Democrat he is proud to wear the title of toughest guy on immigration running for any state office. On Patrick’s campaign website he describes himself as “Dan Patrick Border Champion”. Now Dan Patrick stands accused by his formerly illegal alien, now U.S. Citizen, former employee of not only hiring him and three other illegal immigrants,...

Comptroller Susan Combs on Thursday added her name to the long list of Texas elected officials who are backing Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in his bid for the U.S. Senate. Dewhurst has been “relentless and focused on conservative principles,” said Combs, who credited the lieutenant governor for putting Texas in a strong economic position. “Fighting for principle is not always easy and it is not always visible,” Combs said at an Austin news conference. “I will tell you that actions speak a lot louder than words.” The low-key news conference at Run-Tex on Riverside Drive stands in stark contrast to...

Gov. Rick Perry this evening announced the addition of TSA anti-groping legislation to the agenda for the special legislative session. In a statement, he said lawmakers could consider legislation "relating to the prosecution and punishment for the offense of official oppression on those seeking access to public buildings and transportation." The announcement came after state Rep. David Simpson, R-Longview — a Tea Party favorite — sent a letter to Perry on Sunday requesting HB 41 be added to the call, after attempts to pass it during the regular session were thwarted when the Department of Justice suggested the measure was...

"AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Rick Perry today ceremonially signed House Bill 15, which requires a woman to have a sonogram before electing to have an abortion to ensure she is fully informed before making such an impactful decision. The governor designated the measure an emergency item for the 2011 Legislative Session. He was joined by Sen. Dan Patrick and Rep. Sid Miller at the signing ceremony. “Every life lost to abortion is a tragedy we all must work together to prevent, and I commend Rep. Miller and Sen. Patrick for their hard work on this significant legislation,” Gov. Perry said....