Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s Possible Challengers

Dan Patrick, who released a statement months ago announcing his intention to seek re-election in 2022 stating he would crush his opponents, has now drawn up challengers that would like to see him try

“I am running for re-election in 2022. Democrats are bragging again that they are going to turn Texas blue, and I am not about to let that happen. We will crush them again in 2022” the statement read ”I look forward to working with you in the months ahead to Keep Texas Red.”

Although none have made an official announcement, one of the main challengers who has been hinting at a possible run is Matthew Dowd, former chief strategist to President George W. Bush and renowned ABC News political analyst.

Former Republican himself and now an outspoken critic of the GOP, Dowd has been very vocal about his unconformity with current Texan leadership and the urgent need to replace it.

“I describe Greg Abbott and Dan Patrick and Ken Paxton as craven, cruel, and crook. One’s craven. One’s cruel. And one’s a crook. And they need to go”.  Dowd said during an interview with Texas Monthly. “So I’ll do whatever I can, in any way I can, to help in that.

In the same interview, the political analyst said he would not run for governor, but when Patrick and Paxton’s seats were mentioned, he replied “I don’t want to say any more, but I’m also not a lawyer so you can take it from there.

According to the Texas Tribune, Mike Collier, the 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor who lost to Dan Patrick by 5 percentage points, is gearing up for another run and is launching an exploratory committee to challenge Patrick again next year

“This is a rematch, and it’s all about holding Dan Patrick accountable,” Collier said in an interview, arguing that two major recent events — the winter weather emergency and coronavirus pandemic — have shown “what poor leadership does in the state of Texas.”

A Democrat and former oil company chief financial officer and auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Collier said he’ll also be talking a lot about property taxes, as reported by the Houston Chronicle, he said Republican leaders like Patrick have refused to do what Texans really need: closing corporate tax loopholes.

Until now, most hinted challengers have been Democrats, but the Texas Election Source recently tweeted a possible Republican runner-up.

“Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) draws a primary challenger in Fort Worth businessman Aaron Sorrells, who will be running to Patrick’s right,” the tweet read.  Though the 2020 general election is more than a year and a half away, the Texas primary is scheduled for 11 months from now — forcing candidates wanting to run for statewide office to start early to build a fundraising network and name identification.