AUSTIN (KXAN) — For the second time, Austin voters will decide between candidates Dan Patrick and Mike Collier for lieutenant governor.
Incumbent Patrick has served as Lieutenant Governor for four years. In the 2018 election, Patrick beat Collier by 5 points with 51% of the vote to Collier’s 46% of the vote.
See latest election results below after polls close at 7 p.m. CT
Collier, the Democratic nominee, has campaigned for the last three years almost nonstop focusing on public education, fixing the power grid, and criminal justice reform. His campaign has gained endorsement from Republican Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Republican State Senator Kel Seliger.
“The fact that I’ve been working on this for years and years, I’ve got an army of surrogates and champions and allies all around the state,” Collier said. “People are exhausted … exhausted of politicians who refuse to do what is right and would rather do what is in the interest of their careers, of their bank accounts, and of their power.”
Dan Patrick, the Republican nominee, has run most of his campaign on property tax relief, securing the border, giving parents a choice in their kids’ education and raising teacher pay. This election will be Patrick’s third time running for lieutenant governor after he won in 2014 and voters re-elected him in 2018
“Under my leadership, we have put more money into public education than any lieutenant governor in history,” Patrick said. “The other side does not line up with the values of West Texas, Central Texas and rural Texas.”
Whoever wins will have a vast influence over Texas’ legislative policies and outlining the state’s budget.
Race analysis
This is the third time Patrick is running for lieutenant governor. In 2014, he beat his Democratic challenger by almost 20%. The next time around, he won by under 5% to Collier.
Some political experts argue the lieutenant governor is the most powerful political position in the state because it’s the president of the Texas Senate, allowing that person to appoint senators to committees and set agendas for bills, according to State of Texas host Josh Hinkle.
Patrick won by a narrowed margin this last election than he did the previous one (KXAN Photo)
The next lieutenant governor will need to help lawmakers navigate:
The state’s border and immigration strategyOngoing discussions over the state’s abortion banA renewed call for gun control following the Uvalde school shootingSchool vouchers And deciding how to further fix the state’s power grid
If Gov. Abbott wins again this election, some political experts say it could set him up for a presidential run, Hinkle noted. That means the winner of this race is even more important because the lieutenant governor steps in. George W. Bush’s election as president was what initially put Rick Perry in the Texas governor’s seat.
