AUSTIN \u2013 After getting a much-coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Friday his reelection bid for 2026.<\/p>\n
Patrick leads the Texas Senate, making him the most powerful lawmaker in the Capitol, and a fourth term would allow the Houston Republican to continue dictating the legislative agenda through 2030.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe campaign will begin soon enough, but with seven weeks still to go in the Legislative Session, my focus remains on the work to be done at the Capitol for the people of Texas,\u201d Patrick said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Since taking office in 2015, Patrick has steered the Senate rightward by working to unseat those he deemed insufficiently conservative or disloyal to his agenda. He\u2019s championed increasing homestead exemptions, dismantling university DEI programs and adding voter ID requirements.<\/p>\n
Patrick tightly controls the Senate, where Republican members hold a 20-to-11 advantage over Democrats. It\u2019s allowed him to pass GOP-favored policy with little deliberation or compromise.<\/p>\n
While running for a third term, Patrick, now 75, said that he would not seek a fourth term. He reversed course shortly after his inauguration. Still, several at the Capitol continued to speculate that this year\u2019s legislative session might be his last.<\/p>\n
\u201cWalking away from it\u2019d be pretty hard to do,\u201d said Bill Miller, a veteran lobbyist and political consultant. \u201cHe likes the legislative process. He\u2019s taken control of it. So, what\u2019s not to like?\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick has touted this year\u2019s Senate wins that include red-meat GOP policy, such as protections for prayer in schools, requiring the Ten Commandments be displayed in every classroom and proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration.<\/p>\n
Patrick won reelection in 2022 after beating Democrat Mike Collier by 10 percentage points. No prominent Democrat has thrown their hat into the 2026 race so far. Any Democrat would face a steep challenge against Patrick even if 2026 emerges as a favorable midterm for liberals.<\/p>\n
\u201cDown in Texas, I think that there\u2019s enough of a red cushion that you don\u2019t worry about that,\u201d said Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University.<\/p>\n
Any opponent would enter the race at a financial disadvantage to Patrick, who had $33.5 million in his campaign coffers, according to his latest campaign finance report. Democrats, who have not won a single statewide race in Texas since 1994, would likely be unable to match that financial support.<\/p>\n
Trump kick-started Patrick\u2019s reelection campaign Thursday when he announced his endorsement on social media among a slate of other candidate endorsements. A Trump endorsement is no surprise \u2013 Patrick chaired Trump\u2019s Texas campaign in 2016 and 2020 \u2013 but almost certainly was welcomed.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrump is kingmaker in Texas, and although Patrick himself has a lot of sway, Trump definitely can motivate Republican voters and be a big boon for the leading Republicans,\u201d said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political scientist.<\/p>\n
Trump said Patrick would be a strong ally to his administration and its policy goals for border security, immigration, taxes and the use of public dollars for private school education.<\/p>\n
\u201cDan Patrick has my Complete and Total Endorsement \u2013 He will never let you down!\u201d<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will seek a fourth term in 2026. Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s set off what could be a bruising Republican primary for two prominent statewide seats.<\/p>\n
Republican Comptroller Glenn Hegar is not seeking reelection after his selection as the sole finalist for chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, Dan Patrick’s announcement to seek reelection in 2026 has significant implications for Texas politics. With a strong endorsement from President Trump and a substantial financial advantage, Patrick is well-positioned to win a fourth term. However, the 2026 election is still far away, and much can change between now and then.<\/p>\n
A: Dan Patrick is the current Lieutenant Governor of Texas and is seeking reelection in 2026.<\/p>\n
A: President Donald Trump has endorsed Dan Patrick’s reelection bid.<\/p>\n
A: Democrats face a steep challenge in the 2026 election, given the state’s Republican lean and Patrick’s financial advantage.<\/p>\n
A: Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking a fourth term, and Attorney General Ken Paxton is challenging Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate seat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dan Patrick Announces Reelection Bid for 2026 AUSTIN \u2013 After getting a much-coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced Friday his reelection bid for 2026. Patrick leads the Texas Senate, making him the most powerful lawmaker in the Capitol, and a fourth term would allow the Houston Republican to continue dictating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":3540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/dmn-dallas-news-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com\/resizer\/v2\/4YIYIR5CQVDQNDAMJ6MODPMVUU.jpg?auth=0512cec2dedb07ca3fe2f6022d8c3b191cde4534188a70a4025fb7351a0f5d2b&height=630&width=1200&smart=true&quality=80","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3539"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3539"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3539\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3541,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3539\/revisions\/3541"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/dallas\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}