Off to the races
Democrat Mike Collier to run against Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick again
A popular Democrat is running for lieutenant governor of Texas: Mike Collier, who ran for the office in 2018, has officially thrown his hat in the ring.
Collier created an exploratory committee in April and has already raised more than $1 million in small dollar donations, none of which are from corporate PACs.
He served as senior advisor for Texas to President Joe Biden in 2020, and his background is in finance. He earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and has worked for Exxon, accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and an oil company for which he was chief financial officer. He also ran for Texas state comptroller in 2014.
In his 2018 run, he lost to Dan Patrick by less than 5 points, earning 46.5 percent with 3,860,865 votes, to Patrick’s 51.3 percent, or 4,260,990 votes.
In a statement, he cited some of the disasters Texas has experienced in the last four years, including the energy grid catastrophe in February, and called Patrick a “shock jock.”
“Over the past few months, I have traveled all across Texas and spoken with thousands of Texans,” Collier said. “People are exhausted, exhausted of a negligent state government, exhausted of a politics of hate and vitriol, and exhausted of politicians who refuse to do what is right and would rather do what is in the interest of their careers, of their bank accounts, and of their power.”
“In November of 2022, Texans will have to answer one simple question: Are they better off than they were four years ago? With 700 dead from a grid failure, 60,000 dead to COVID, a lagging state economy, and our constitutional rights under assault, the fact is Texas cannot bear four more years of Dan Patrick.”
“Today, I am announcing my candidacy because I believe Texas deserves a lieutenant governor who is committed to honestly solving problems. As a career-long auditor, energy expert, and financial watchdog, I’m eager to deliver solutions for the people of Texas — not create more problems,” Collier continued. “The last few months have shown that our state faces a crisis of competent leadership, and Texas needs a proven business leader, not a radio shock jock zealot, at the helm of this great state.”
The primary is on March 1, 2022. The general election is November 8, 2022.
