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Dan Patrick

Dan Patrick

Republican Incumbent

Candidate for Texas Lt. Governor

About

Lt. Governor of Texas (2015–present), Texas State Senator (2007–2015). Credited as the most conservative Lt. Governor in Texas history by the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times.
Campaign Website Campaign Contributions Party Platform

Conservative Endorsements

Candidate Videos

Illegal Immigrant Crime
Birth Tourism
What's in Your Child's Library?

Survey Responses

None found for this election cycle.

Notable Quotes

“I personally wrote the bill to give local law enforcement in Texas the right to arrest and detain illegal border crossers. Senate Bill 4 is an important tool for Texas to help secure the border, especially if a rogue president, like Biden, refuses to enforce our nation's border laws.”
“As a Christian and a conservative, I celebrate that tens of thousands of tiny Texans have been saved and that Texas has led the way in protecting life nationwide.”
“We're going to raise the homestead exemption again for people under 65 to get it to $200,000.”
“One of my guardrails is simple. The local citizens need to approve [data centers] in their communities.”

Positions on Texas Eagle Forum Priorities

Border Security & Immigration
  • PERSONALLY AUTHORED THE BILL MAKING IT A STATE CRIME FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY/RE-ENTRY INTO TEXAS, authorizing local law enforcement to arrest and prosecute violators anywhere in the state (Senate Bill 4, 2023). [1]
  • PRIORITIZED BORDER SECURITY as President of the Texas Senate, often criticizing federal inaction under previous administrations and pushing Texas to act independently. [1, 2]
  • ADVANCED BORDER LEGISLATION, using his role as President of the Senate to set agendas, appoint committees, and prioritize funding. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  • PRIORITIZED STATE FUNDING FOR OPERATION LONE STAR, National Guard deployments, fencing, and law enforcement. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Secure Our Elections
  • HELPED PASS THE ELECTION INTEGRITY PROTECTION ACT, providing restrictions on unsolicited mail ballot applications, enhancing signature verification and poll watcher rules, standardizing early voting hours and procedures to reduce inconsistencies across counties (Senate Bill 1, 2021). [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • HAS CONSISTENTLY PRIORITIZED ELECTION SECURITY. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • SUPPORTS ALLOWING THE STATE TO SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEW AND PURGE VOTER ROLLS, including matching against citizenship databases and removing inactive or ineligible registrations. [1, 2]
Education Issues
  • PRIORITIZED THE UNIVERSAL SCHOOL CHOICE INITIATIVE (the Texas Education Freedom Accounts Program, Senate Bill 2, 2025), providing Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for families to use toward private school tuition, tutoring, homeschooling, or other educational expenses. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
  • INCREASED PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING by 30% (2023) as well as teacher-retention pay raises by championing bills in the Senate. [1, 2, 3]
Protect Childhood Innocence
  • PRIORITIZED BANNING SEXUALLY EXPLICIT PERFORMANCES, including certain drag shows, in the presence of minors or on publicly funded property (Senate Bill 12, 2023). [1, 2]
  • BACKED MEASURES ADDRESSING RESTRICTIONS ON EXPLICIT MATERIALS in school libraries and gender-related policies for minors. [1, 2, 3]
  • PRIORITIZED THE BILL TO STOP AI-GENERATED CHILD PORNOGRAPHY (Senate Bill 20, 2025). [1, 2]
  • PRIORITIZED THE PARENTAL BILL OF RIGHTS (Senate Bill 12, 2025) to prohibit certain DEI-related instruction, restrict lessons on sexual orientation/gender identity, and strengthen parental notification and consent rules. [1, 2]
Gender Issues
  • HELPED PASS THE BAN ON PUBERTY BLOCKERS, hormone therapy, and gender-modifying surgeries for minors (Senate Bill 14, 2023). [1]
  • SUPPORTED THE BATHROOM BILL, requiring use of certain facilities according to biological sex at birth, including restrooms, locker rooms, and shelters in government buildings and schools (Senate Bill 7, 2025). [1, 2]
  • BACKED BILLS PROTECTING BIOLOGICAL SEX DISTINCTIONS IN SCHOOL SPORTS, limiting gender identity discussions in early grades, protecting biological sex distinctions in bathrooms and locker rooms, and increasing parental notification rights. Criticized “woke” curricula and pushed for transparency in school materials. [1, 2]
  • PRIORITIZED THE BILL TO RESTRICT SEXUALLY ORIENTED PERFORMANCES IN FRONT OF MINORS or on publicly funded property (Senate Bill 12, 2023). Stated that sexualized drag shows have “no business being around children.” [1, 2]
  • PRIORITIZED EXPANSIONS OF THE READER ACT via Senate Bill 13 (2023) to remove obscene or sexually explicit books from school libraries and increase parental oversight. [1, 2]
Government-Sanctioned Addiction
  • HAS BEEN A MAJOR OBSTACLE TO NEW CASINOS OR EXPANDED GAMING in Texas. Has stated that there aren’t enough votes in the Senate for these bills and has not prioritized them. Views broader gambling expansion skeptically, often aligning with social conservative concerns about addiction and family impacts. [1, 2, 3]
  • PRIORITIZED THE THC BILL, seeking a near total ban on intoxicating, consumable THC products, except low-THC medical use under the Compassionate Use Program and non-psychoactive CBD/CBG, framing the hemp loophole as a backdoor to marijuana that endangers children (Senate Bill 3, 2025). [1, 2]
Protect Life
  • SAID “LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION” and that protecting unborn life is a core priority. Said he celebrates Texas laws that have “saved tens of thousands of tiny Texans.” [1]
  • CELEBRATED PASSAGE OF THE HEARTBEAT BILL, stating that "this legislation reflects our continued commitment to protecting the most vulnerable." (Senate Bill 8, 2021). [1]
  • CHAMPIONED RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION with limited exceptions (primarily the life of the mother) and opposed exceptions for rape or incest. Consistently received 100% or above on pro-life scorecards as a state senator. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Islamification of Texas
  • DIRECTED THE SENATE TO RECOMMEND LEGISLATION AGAINST SHARIA LAW or other secondary judicial systems” (2026) with explicit scrutiny of the East Plano Islamic Center (EPIC City) project. [1, 2]
  • STATED THAT ONLY U.S. AND TEXAS LAW SHOULD GOVERN IN THE STATE and that other secondary judicial systems are incompatible with the Constitution and American values. [1, 2]
National Security
  • PRIORITIZED THE ADVERSARIAL NATIONS LAND BAN restricting designated adversarial nations, entities, and governments from purchasing most real property in Texas (Senate Bill 17, 2025). [1, 2]
  • PRIORITIZED THE BILL TO INCREASE TEXAS'S ELECTRIC GRID RELIABILITY (Senate Bill 6, 2025). The bill was signed into law. [1, 2, 3]
  • CALLED FOR SENATE HEARINGS ON CHINESE-LINKED SOLAR COMPANIES operating in Texas, citing national security risks to the grid and supply chain. [1, 2]
Other Constitutional Issues
  • CHAMPIONED THE TEN COMMANDMENTS BILL to display the Ten Commandments in public schools through the Senate (Senate Bill 10, 2025), stating it aligns with the nation’s founding values. [1, 2]
  • ACTIVELY NEGOTIATED CONSTITUTIONAL CARRY, the permitless carry bill, through the Senate (House Bill 1927, 2021). [1, 2]
  • PRIORITIZED PRO-GUN LEGISLATION and advanced expansive campus carry and protections against corporate discrimination. [1, 2, 3]
  • BACKED THE BAN OF PRIVATE EMPLOYER COVID VACCINE MANDATES (Senate Bill 7, 2023) and actively supported the bill making ivermectin available over the counter without a prescription (House Bill 25, 2025). [1, 2, 3]
  • SUPPORTED A LIMITED ARTICLE V CONVENTION OF STATES to impose fiscal restraints, limit federal overreach, and restore state sovereignty, listing it among his 2017 legislative priorities. [1, 2]
Property Tax Relief
  • LED REPEATED HOMESTEAD-EXEMPTION INCREASES in the Senate (2015-2025), stating that this is “the best way to deliver meaningful property tax reductions for homeowners.” His plan for the 90 Legislative Session is to raise the general homestead another $40,000 (to $180,000), drop the senior freeze/exemption age from 65 to 55, take seniors/disabled to $240,000, and add a 3.5% cap on city/county budget growth. [1][2][3][4][5][6]