My Statement on Tuesday’s State House Election Results
The expiration date on Dade Phelan’s speakership is plainly written on the bottle. Tuesday night was a referendum on his leadership, and Republican voters, the conservative majority, spoke with great clarity.
Dade Phelan failed in his role as Speaker. He led his members to take bad votes on the House floor, which cost them dearly at home.
Dade Phelan’s even greater failure was ignoring the policy goals of the conservative majority of voters in Texas. From border security and tax relief to election integrity, criminal justice, and school choice, Phelan abandoned the GOP majority and answered the call of his Democrat Chairs and the rest of the minority party members.
Astonishingly, in the next session, up to one-third of the Republican Caucus will be new members. There were nine retirements and 36 GOP incumbent races with competitive challengers. Nine incumbents lost outright, and eight are headed to high-risk runoffs. The House Republican Caucus will look vastly different when they reconvene for the 89th Legislative Session. These new candidates were elected as a result of the failed leadership of Dade Phelan and will not likely repeat the mistakes of their predecessors.
Dade Phelan’s special interest money couldn’t save his incumbents, nor could it save him. He campaigned in his district as a conservative, but his track record in Austin couldn’t back it up. He railed against ‘outsiders’ trying to steal the race from the people of Southeast Texas – all the while importing special interest Austin money into the district to hold onto his seat. The message was delivered by the voters – it’s not ‘his’ seat. It belongs to the people. It was a great night for the conservative majority in Texas.
Moving the Needle in the Texas Primary
Texas GOP primary voters have spoken loud and clear. First and foremost, President Trump obliterated Nikki Haley in Texas and will be the Republican nominee for President. I am proud to be President Trump’s campaign chair in Texas for the third time.
President Trump and I made 18 endorsements together in Texas GOP legislative primaries. We achieved 11 victories in those races, 4 runoffs, and 3 losses. The President and I look forward to helping our endorsed candidates, who are all in first place in their runoffs, cross the finish line.
SD 30 – Brent Hagenbuch – Runoff (First Place)
HD 2 – Brent Money – Victory
HD 11 – Joanne Shofner – Victory
HD 15 – Steve Toth – Victory
HD 18 – Janis Holt – Victory
HD 21 – David Covey – Runoff (First Place)
HD 28 – Gary Gates – Victory
HD 44 – Alan Schoolcraft – Runoff (First Place)
HD 53 – Wes Virdell – Victory
HD 55 – Hillary Hickland – Victory
HD 58 – Helen Kerwin – Runoff (First Place)
HD 60 – Mike Olcott – Victory
HD 80 – Don McLaughlin – Victory
HD 86 – John Smithee – Victory
HD 87 – Caroline Fairly – Victory
President Trump was undefeated in his congressional endorsements, including Brandon Gill in the open seat for CD26, and undefeated in the races for the Court of Criminal Appeals.
President Trump’s endorsement record in Texas was an amazing 39 victories, 4 runoffs, and 3 defeats.
Here are the results from my additional endorsements:
HD5 – Cole Hefner – Victory
HD8 – Cody Harris – Victory
HD12 – Ben Bius – Runoff
HD14 – Paul Dyson – Victory
HD17 – Stan Gerdes – Victory
HD24 – Greg Bonnen – Victory
HD26 – Jacey Jetton – Defeat
HD30 – AJ Louderback – Runoff
HD56 – Pat Curry – Victory
HD63 – Ben Bumgarner – Victory
HD97 – Cheryl Bean – Runoff
HD98 – Giovanni Capriglione – Victory
HD112 – Angie Chen Button – Victory
My total endorsement record was 20 victories, 7 runoffs, and 4 losses. I salute every one of these candidates. They are the ones who stepped into the arena and did the hard work over many months.
Thank you all for your support and everything you do to keep Texas red. May God bless you and your family, and may He continue to bless the greatest state of all—Texas.
Sincerely,
Dan Patrick
Lieutenant Governor of Texas
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"Whomever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant."
Matthew 20:26 (NLT)
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