The Voice of Texas

Texas State Senator and radio talk show host Dan Patrick (SD 7) just became the most influential politician in Texas. Hailing from Northwest Houston, Dan Patrick has established himself on the Texas landscape and it is time that Texas elected officials watch out.

In 2006, State Senator Jon Lindsey retired, leaving SD 7 open. This became a four person Republican Primary, featuring State Representative Joe Nixon, State Representative Peggy Hamric, Houston City Councilman Mark Ellis, and local radio talk show host Dan Patrick. The Republican establishment rallied behind Nixon and Hamric. Local government officials rallied behind Ellis. The people of SD 7 rallied behind Patrick. It is seldom seen in a four person primary, that any individual wins that primary without a runoff. Dan Patrick not only won the Republican Primary without a runoff in 2006, he earned nearly 70% of the votes! The Republican establishment was beaten bad. Dan Patrick won with such big numbers that the potential Democrat challenger withdrew from the race.

Fast-forward to 2008. The State Representative from the same region of Harris County is Corbin Van Arsdale. Representative Van Arsdale first won his Texas House seat in 2002. Over the course of three Sessions, Van Arsdale climbed the leadership rung in the Texas House. Van Arsdale's voting record on most issues is praised by conservatives. But...

Corbin Van Arsdale led the charge in the Texas Legislature on the business tax in the Special Session in 2006. The business tax has put a hindrence on local small businesses in Houston and the property tax cuts that were guaranteed by the new business tax were not delivered by the local school districts.

Dan Patrick, now a State Senator and a radio talk show host, began decrying the new business tax. Allen Fletcher was recruited to run against Corbin Van Arsdale for State Representative in 2008. With Dan Patrick's support, Allen Fletcher won the Republican Primary 52-48 %. Corbin Van Arsdale received the endorsements and financial support of most statewide conservative organizations. None of this mattered as the "Voice of Texas," Dan Patrick, rallied his loyal supporters to vote for Allen Fletcher.

The dust is beginning to settle, but the outcome is this. State Senator Dan Patrick has just made himself one of the major players in Harris County and potentially in Texas statewide races in the future. There are probably many sitting State Representatives that are afraid of mis-stepping now for fear of losing in their own primary to a candidate that Dan Patrick is supporting. The open State Senate seat in Harris County, recently vacated by the retiring Kyle Janek, will be interesting to watch as Dan Patrick will be looking for additional allies in the State Senate.

Dan Patrick has become the Voice of Texas for conservatives. With his media abilities and his ability to articulate the issues, he was already a force to be reconned with. Now, with his ability to defeat sitting State Legislators, his power has come full circle. Legislators seen as being Austin insiders may get many endorsements from great conservative organizations, but the endorsement that matters most to Dan Patrick and his allies is the endorsement from the people in the election. Allen Fletcher just received an endorsement from the people in HD 130. Who will Dan Patrick challenge next?