Patrick Elaborates on Trump Plug with Claim
on Conquering Unrivaled Challenges in Texas

Capitol Inside
May 11, 2021

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick could be playing with fire with an endorsement that he scored this week from Donald Trump in a move that could bolster his odds for success in the GOP primary at the expense of support against a Democrat in the general election when he seeks a new term in 2022.

The timing of the plug from Trump 10 months before the primary vote could be designed to scare off potential challengers like Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush - a Republican who's been seriously considering a bid for lieutenant governor before apparently switching his sights to a potential round one clash with Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Patrick has appeared to have strong support within the Trump base after five years as his state campaign chairman in Texas. With nothing really to gain in the primary from the fallen leader's support, Patrick is gambling that he doesn't alienate a significant number of GOP voters and independents to lift a Democratic challenger to victory in the fall vote of 2022.

While an endorsement from Trump might all but guarantee a nomination for beneficiaries like the lieutenant governor here. But a Democrat like current rematch contender Mike Collier could have more to gain than Patrick from the close association with an ex-president who'd sought to overturn a democratic American election based on lies and conspiracies en route to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol where five people including a police officer lost their lives on January 6.

"Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick is a great fighter for the people of Texas," Trump declared in a statement from his Save America PAC. "He has stood up for up for Life, Liberty, the Second Amendment, Border Security, our Military and our Vets, and our God-given Freedoms.  He has governed by conservative principles of LOW TAXES and careful spending, always doing what is best for his great State and for America.  Texans should re-elect him!  He is outstanding and has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"

Patrick promoted the Trump endorsement in an email to supporters - portraying the two as good friends while branding Democratic President Joe Biden as a puppet for the hard left. Patrick took a page from the Trump playbook when he depicted himself as a leader who'd tackled problems that were far more difficult than any predecessors had encountered.

“As Lt. Governor I have faced more challenges than any of my predecessors in modern Texas history including, most recently, a major economic blow to our oil and gas industry, a pandemic and a deadly winter freeze," Patrick said.

"Texas has been able to come out stronger than ever because we have governed with conservative principles," Patrick added. "We have stuck to our values, we have not raised taxes and we have not expanded the size of government.  I stand up for the people of Texas, I listen to them about the things that matter and we move forward accordingly."

Patrick didn't mention that he'd called out fellow conservatives for spreading lies about leftist Antifa radicals as the true culprits in the riot that killed five people when Trump Republicans stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. While that wasn't what Trump wanted to hear at the time, Patrick appeared to get a pass on the admission that had seemed highly out of character for the Texas politician who'd parroted Trump's lies throughout the COVID-19 crisis and sought to curry favor with him with the creation of a bounty fund to root out voter fraud in the early stages of the baseless election challenge that triggered the insurrection in Washington D.C.

Patrick had remained mum on the apparently fruitless quest for evidence of corruption at the ballot box after its conception a week after the general election. Patrick was uncharactistically quiet as Trump's attempt to overturn the democratic American election played out before his impeachment in Congress for the leading role he had in the riot that erupted at a Save America rally near the Capitol.

Collier, who's attempting a comeback bid after losing to Patrick in 2018, seized on the Trump endorsement as a fundraising weapon for a rematch next year. Collier moved swiftly to capitalize on the lightning rod effect that Trump's presence guarantees in the Patrick camp.

"It’s no surprise to me that the author of the Big Lie, the president who refused to listen to doctors or science, and the person who failed Texans at every turn of his presidency would endorse a fellow conspirator and failed leader like Dan Patrick," Collier said.

Patrick defeated Collier by less than 5 points with 51 percent of the general election vote in their first encounter on the ballot here.

 

 

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