Lt. Gov. Patrick Again Defeats Democrat Collier

[#TexasPolitics365]

Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sailed to victory Tuesday night to secure a third term as Texas’ No. 2 statewide official.

Patrick faced Democrat Mike Collier, a Houston-area accountant, at the ballot box for the second time.

This time, both candidates ran far more aggressive campaigns than in the previous contest. Patrick made promises to push through legislation to deal with skyrocketing crime rates, while Collier attacked Patrick, telling him in one TV ad to "fix the damn grid," a reference to last year's ice storm in which millions lost power and over 200 people died as a result.

(Full story HERE.)
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Abbott And O'Rourke Both Express Support For Gambling

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With support from both sides of the political spectrum, there is a good chance that legalize gambling could be coming to Texas.  

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and his Democratic opponent, Beto O’Rourke, are willing to talk about bringing limited gambling in Texas. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, and Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Mike Collier have expressed reservations — though Collier’s team vowed the candidate would let bills move through the process if elected. Any expansion of gambling would have to go to voters for approval as a constitutional amendment.

(Full story HERE.)
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Lt. Gov. Patrick Decries High Murder Rate In New Ad, Suggests Mandatory Minimum Sentences

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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has released a new campaign ad in which he says crime has skyrocketed 37%, and suggests mandatory minimum sentences for those criminals who use guns while committing a crime.  

In the ad, Patrick says, in part, "Texans are fed up with violent crime and sky-rocketing murder rates. To stop it, I will propose legislation next session to add a ten-year, mandatory jail sentence to anyone convicted of using a gun while committing a crime. ...We cannot let Democrats turn Texas into California."

Some have noted that Patrick is admitting skyrocked and crime has occurred under his and gov. Abbott's watch, others have wondered why Patrick, who has been in office since 2015, is just now getting around to suggesting mandatory minimums.

Patrick is in a tight race with Democrat Collins, a former Republican who is running as a top on crime moderate in order to peel away support from Patrick.

(Full story HERE
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Collier Reveals Two Republican Endorsements

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Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Mike Collier’s campaign said he has met with more than a dozen elected Republican officials and has been publicly endorsed by two.

Collier will have to compete with Republican incumbent Dan Patrick’s campaign war chest and lead in the polls. New polling out this week from the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin shows Patrick leading by seven percentage points amongst registered voters.

The Democrat was recently endorsed by two Texas Republicans — both of whom are on their way out of office. State Sen. Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said they would be voting for Collier. 

(Full story HERE
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Lt.Gov. Candidate Collier Says Patrick "Isn't A Good Republican"

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Democrat Lt. Gov. candidate Mike Collier is back with another attack ad against Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, this time, saying that while he knows many good Republicans, Patrick isn't one of them.

The basis for his claim is that he allegedly took money from corporate donors, in exchange for tax breaks, and wants to fund private schools with public tax money, which he says will hurt public schools, a common Democrat refrain.

(Full story HERE.)
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Collier Attacks Patrick In First Ad: "Fix The Damn Grid"

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Democrat nominee for Texas Lt. Gov. Mike Collier has launched his first TV ad, attacking incumbent lieutenant gov. Dan Patrick, and calling on him to "fix the damn grid." 

This call has been taken up by several Democrats candidates, and it's become a better from mantra on the campaign trail for several of them. 

He announced the ad in a Twitter post on his feed. It can also be viewed on his YouTube channel.
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Democrat Collier Will Face Lt. Gov. Patrick In November

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Democrat Mike Collier will get his rematch against Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick again this fall, four years after he lost to the incumbent by 4 percentage points in the same race. In Tuesday night’s runoff for the Democratic nomination, Collier defeated state Rep. Michelle Beckley 55% to 45%.

The blue-haired Beckley represents the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and was one of the Democrats in the legislature who fled to Washington, DC to prevent a voting quorum in the House.

While there, she drew criticism for announcing on video that she would run for Congress, plans that changed when she returned to Texas, announcing her lieutenant governor run last November.

Collier now faces an uphill battle against Dan Patrick.

(Full story HERE.)
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Dem Lt. Governor Candidate Beckley Faces Challenges

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Days after Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier released his first TV ad, a survey of Texas voters from the Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler found that state Rep. Michelle Beckley leads Collier by double digits, 31 to 19 percent. 

Beckley, who with other legislators fled to Washington DC last year to prevent a quorum in the House, faces challenges in the race. The state’s major newspapers, and groups like the Texas AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes and Texas American Federation of Teachers have all endorsed Collier.

And Beckley appears to be facing repeated backlash from former staffers.  She was awarded Texas Monthly’s “Furniture” award, a distinction reserved for the most underwhelming legislators.

(Full story HERE.)
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In Dem Lt. Gov. Race, Beckley Calls On Collier To Drop Out

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Houston accountant Mike Collier will face state Rep. Michelle Beckley in the May runoffs in the Democratic runoff for Lt. Governor. The winner will face incumbent Republican Dan Patrick in November.

Collier, who was the Democratic nominee in 2018, received 42% of the vote, while Beckley received 30%. Another candidate, Texas Democratic Party Vice Chair Carla Brailey, came in third.

Soon after those votes were tallied, Beckley called for Collier to drop out, saying he "doesn't inspire the base".

“I have no plans to drop out,” Collier said during an interview on Capital Tonight. “I came in first, not only statewide but in the vast majority of counties. I’m building a very diverse coalition around the state and I feel like I have a very good chance of success.”

(Full story HERE.)
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Dem Lt. Gov. Candidate Dowd Drops Out For "More Diverse" Field

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Left-wing media pundit Matthew Dowd announced he would end his bid for Texas lieutenant governor so that a non-White, male Christian candidate can prevail.

"Important news. I am ending my campaign for Lt. Governor of Texas. Now that the race is emerging in a more diverse way, I have made the decisions from a place of integrity to step back," Dowd tweeted to accompany a press release. 

The announcement came just days after he condemned Republicans for attacking the word "woke," saying it simply meant "human decency," and Jesus would call himself woke.

Also weighing on his decision may have been the fact that the State Democratic party chair Gilbert Hinojosa had endorsed lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier several months ago and he was the only candidate in the race.

(Full story here.)
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Liberal State Legislator Who Fled To DC Joins Lt. Gov. Race

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Democratic state Rep. Michelle Beckley of Carrollton, who gained national attention for joining lawmakers who fled to Washington, D.C., to block a Republican election bill this summer, is running for lieutenant governor, expanding her party’s primary to three contenders.

In her campaign announcement on Tuesday, Beckley said she was running because Republican incumbent Dan Patrick is implementing policies that “hurt Texas business and make life harder for all Texans.”

She joins political commentator Matthew Dowd and Houston accountant and auditor Mike Collier, who was the Democratic nominee for the position in 2018.

State Democratic Party chairman Gilbert Hinojosa openly endorsed Collier last month after Dowd, a former Republican consultant, got into the race.

(Full story HERE.)
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Texas Democratic Party Chair Endorses Collier In Lt. Gov. Primary

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Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilbert Hinojosa has issued a statement taking sides in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, a week after Matthew Dowd entered the race. 

Hinojosa said that he supports Mike Collier, a Houston accountant who was the Democratic pick for lieutenant governor in 2018. Collier is the establishment favorite over Dowd, a former independent who worked for Republican George W. Bush in the 2000s and Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock in the 1990s.

Hinojosa, elected chairman of the state's  Democratic Party in 2012, is the party's first Hispanic chairman.

(Full story here.)
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Mike Collier Plans Another Run Against Lt. Gov. Patrick in '22

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Mike Collier, the 2018 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor who lost to Dan Patrick by 5 percentage points, is gearing up for another run.

Collier is launching an exploratory committee to challenge Patrick again next year, though he said it is more of a "confirmatory" committee and that he is "intent on doing this."

(Full story here.)
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