Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is asking voters for a fourth term, and the four-way race to preside over the Texas Senate is on every Grayson County ballot when early voting starts Monday.
The county's sample ballot lists Patrick, a Republican; Democrat Vikki Goodwin; Libertarian Anthony Cristo; and Green Party candidate Kevin McCormick. Stephen Samuelson and Arturo Espinosa, both unsuccessful candidates in this year's GOP governor primary, are running as declared write-ins, according to a Texas Tribune candidate guide.
Why the office matters
The lieutenant governor runs the state Senate, setting its agenda, naming its committees and breaking ties, which gives the officeholder wide say over which bills reach the governor, the Tribune guide says. The office also shares leadership of the Legislative Budget Board, the panel that writes the state's spending plan.
Much of that power comes from Senate rules adopted each session, and the Tribune notes that GOP senators would probably rewrite those rules to take the powers away if a Democrat won.
The candidates
Dan Patrick, the Republican incumbent, was first elected in 2014 after serving in the state Senate from 2007 to 2015. He wants to cut property taxes through a bigger school homestead exemption and a lower qualifying age for the senior exemption, has been a leading supporter of school vouchers, backs a ban on the sale of THC products and supports keeping the state's abortion ban. He has also pitched docking a public school's state rating by a letter grade if it keeps graphic books on library shelves. Trump, Abbott, U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and the Texas Farm Bureau's AgFund are among his endorsers. His campaign had $35.3 million in the bank at the end of June.
Vikki Goodwin, the Democratic nominee, has represented southwest Austin and Travis County in the Texas House since 2019. She supports more money for public schools and teacher pay, investment in water infrastructure and recycling, regulating THC with age limits, testing and labels, repealing the abortion ban and expanding Medicaid. She has backed pausing new data center development. Her endorsements include U.S. Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett and more than 35 Democratic state representatives. Her campaign had $317,571 at the end of June.
Anthony Cristo, the Libertarian, is a San Antonio high school teacher who would bring property taxes down by trimming state spending and says it is time to legalize marijuana.
