Free Republic

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.

A new television ad in the lieutenant governors race has a charity demanding an apology. The ad from the David Dewhurst campaign show a series of pictures of Dan Patrick with a tie but no shirt looking as if he’s at a wild party, but a written statement from the Be an Angel Fund reveals that Patrick was literally selling the shirt off his back at a fundraiser to help special needs children.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) served notice Friday that he intends to play a major role in deciding who emerges from a sizable pack of GOP Senate contenders in Texas. In an e-mail to supporters of his Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), DeMint talked up two rumored candidates to replace Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), who announced Thursday she will not be seeking reelection in 2012. Both of the candidates are supported by the Tea Party grassroots movement. His e-mail notably talked down state Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who is seen by some political observers in the state as the Republican front-runner,...