After losing his Republican primary, outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has spent months cozying up to a Democrat with ties to socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. Now, Miller is openly attacking his party’s nominees alongside Democrats on cable TV as voters head to the polls.
Miller, who touted President Donald Trump’s endorsement during his unsuccessful re-election campaign earlier this year, has repeatedly appeared alongside Democrat Clayton Tucker, the former Texas director of Sanders’ Our Revolution organization.
Though the Republican incumbent has maintained that he is not endorsing Tucker, a series of public appearances and increasingly pointed attacks against Republican nominee Nate Sheets have continued since the March primary. Sheets earned 52.7 percent of the GOP vote.
This week, Miller escalated the feud with an opinion column titled Texas Must Reject Nate Sheets. In it, Miller accused his fellow Republican of being unqualified, beholden to campaign donors, and unfit to lead the Texas Department of Agriculture.
At the same time, Miller praised Tucker for opposing data center development.
“I’ve been a conservative Republican my entire adult life. I’ve never endorsed a Democrat,” Miller wrote. “But my loyalty has always been to Texas, not a political party.” He added, “Don’t vote for a party label. Vote for Texas.”
The outgoing commissioner went even further Tuesday during an appearance on the left-wing cable network MSNOW (formerly known as MSNBC), where he sat alongside Tucker and revealed that he had refused to vote for two Republican nominees.
“There’s two Republicans I cannot vote for,” Miller said. “I did not vote for our governor, Greg Abbott. He needs to go, and I did not vote for Nate Sheets.”
When asked whether he instead voted for Tucker and Democrat gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa, Miller refused to answer.
“That’s between me and my God, and it’s going to stay that way,” he said.
Despite his refusal to support Abbott and Sheets, Miller claims he remains a devoted Trump supporter.
“I’m the biggest Trump supporter in Texas,” said Miller. “He calls me Trump’s man in Texas, so I’m a die-hard Trump man.”
Sheets fired back on X, accusing Miller of corruption and trying to prevent scrutiny of the agency he’s led for nearly 12 years.
“Sid Miller is the most corrupt figure in Texas government, and I consider his criticism a badge of honor,” wrote Sheets.
“I ran to change things at the Texas Department of Agriculture and shut down the criminality, and it’s telling that Miller will seemingly stop at nothing to prevent me from heading the agency and uncovering the depths of what went on.”
Sheets continued, “The self-anointed ‘RINO Hunter’ has become a traitor to his own party. A fitting end to a disgraceful political career.”
Miller’s attacks come just days after President Donald Trump blasted Sen. John Cornyn and Karl Rove for undermining Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton.
While Miller has not formally endorsed Tucker, his public praise for the former Sanders operative, attacks against Republican nominees, and refusal to disclose whether he voted for Democrats have put him at odds with his own party as voters head to the polls.
“My time in office is ending,” wrote Miller.
His campaign against the Republican nominee seeking to replace him, however, continues.
