There are fewer than two months until the Texas primary. One race on the ballot is for Lieutenant Governor.
Incumbent Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is seeking a third term.
There are three candidates in the Democratic primary seeking to run against Patrick.
For the second time, businessman Mike Collier is running. In 2018, he lost to Patrick by about 4.8 points. Texas Rep. Michelle Beckley (D-Carrollton) has also thrown her hat into the ring. Carla Brailey, the former vice-chair of the Texas Democratic Party is in the race too. Democratic Strategist Glenn Smith spoke to NBC 5 about the race.
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“Mike Collier probably has a bit of advantage because he has run before, and he is known by more democrats throughout the state. I’ve got to give him an early advantage based on that. Michelle Beckley however is a well-known State Representative and Carla Brailey, also from a major metropolitan area of Houston. You can't discount that strength," said Smith.
On the Republican side, Patrick has five primary challengers. They are Trayce Bradford, Todd Bullis, Daniel Miller, Aaron Sorrells, and Zach Vance. Republican strategist Vinny Minchillo thinks Patrick gets through easily.
“I think he has pretty well cleared the field for the primary and certainly wins this without a runoff. Something in the 60% or more number. High 60s maybe,” said Minchillo.
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Patrick heads into the primary with almost $24 million in the bank, and that's before the fundraising deadline for the end of the year.
If Patrick advances, his Democratic opponent will have to raise a lot of money, and quickly.
