Ronny Jackson Denies Backing Sid Miller
with Belated Plug for Rival Nate Sheets
Capitol Inside
February 18, 2026
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller's race for re-election took another wild turn on Wednesday when GOP primary challenger Nate Sheets claimed that arch-conservative U.S. Rep. Ronny Jackson of Amarillo had endorsed him after the incumbent said he'd done the same for him a month ago. .
Miller announced an endorsement from Jackson on January 13 on his Facebook page. Miller touted Jackson's support again in an Instagram post on Tuesday. But Jackson said in a statement that he "just became aware today" that Miller had claimed to have his support without receiving his permission first.
The representative for the 13th Congressional District said he expressed his disappointment to Miller earlier on Wednesday and informed him that he'd decided to come off the sidelines after all and pitch his support to Sheets.
"I did not endorse him and was planning to stay completely out of the race," Jackson asserted.
But Jackson and Miller had been allies in the past - and the incumbent ag commissioner could take the position that the praise that someone serves up for a candidate doesn't have an implied expiration date. Miller's campaign hadn't pulled a large display ad that his campaign composed to promote the far-right congressional member's support from his social media pages by late afternoon on Wednesday.
A pro-Miller account on X called @TexasFirstPolitics questioned why Jackson would wait for weeks before objecting to the endorsement claims.
"Ronny Jackson "suddenly became aware" more than a month after we pushed out his endorsement to our 1.2 million social media followers and promoted on Commissioner Miller's website?" the incumbent's support site said in a post that appeared to be speaking for the campaign shortly after 2 p.m. today. "That dog don't hunt, Congressman."
Governor Greg Abbott, who's been campaigning for Sheets, sought to demonstrate that endorsements from him are only good for a single election cycle when he
targeted a dozen Texas House Republicans for defeats in the primary election in 2024 as payback for helping Democrats kill a perennial school vouchers bill. Abbott had heaped superlatives on the same lawmakers he set out to oust two years ago in past campaigns for the House.
Abbott even sent a cease-and-desist letter to a former ally in State Rep. Drew Darby of San Angelo after the lawmaker failed to remove a web site post on the governor's endorsement from two years before. While the governor bankrolled challengers who knocked more than a dozen House Republicans out in the 2024 primary and runoff elections, Darby staved off a challenge from the Abbott-endorsed challenger en route to another re-election victory in a West Texas district that year.
But Jackson's belated support for Sheets may be too little too late in the face of a 30-point Miller lead that the University of Houston found in polling on the Texas statewide races late last month. Sheets will be hoping that Jackson's endorsement on the day after the start of the early voting period gives him the boost that he'd failed to get with Abbott as his marquee supporter.
Miller portrayed Jackson with admiration, pride and awe in the Instagram post on his ostensible support this week.
"@repronnyjackson has a truly storied career of service to our nation," Miller said. "He is a retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, a decorated physician, and a combat veteran who served as White House Physician to multiple presidents, including Donald J. Trump. Today, he continues that service in Congress by standing strong for Texas values, our military, and our farmers and ranchers.
"Ronny Jackson understands what it means to lead under pressure, to put service above self, and to fight for the people he represents," Miller added. "His endorsement is important because he knows how critical food security, a strong agricultural economy, and conservative leadership are to the future of Texas and our nation.
Together, we will keep Texas agriculture strong and keep Texas moving in the right direction."
A member of Congress since 2021, Jackson number one claim when he ran for office had been his role as Trump's personal physician during his first White House term. Trump had deemed Miller to be his "man in Texas" during his campaign in 2016 when the agriculture commissioner had been the only major Republican elected official in Texas who backed Trump when U.S. Senator Ted Cruz was still a candidate for the nation's top political post as well.
more to come ...
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