Sid Miller defeated his two primary challengers, State Rep. James White and Carey Counsil, in the election for the GOP’s nomination for agricultural commissioner.

The Stephenville Republican served in the Texas House for 10 years before first entering the race for agricultural commissioner in 2014. In addition to winning his first election, Miller secured a second term in 2018.

During his first two terms, Miller increased agricultural exports from the state and worked to include locally grown food in public school lunches. He also sued the Biden administration over a COVID-19 relief plan that he believed was discriminatory toward white ranchers and farmers.

Miller has also faced several controversies during his time in office, including accusations that he spent state funds on a personal trip to Oklahoma in 2016. A more recent incident occurred in January 2022, when his main political aide was arrested on charges of commercial bribery and theft. Miller later terminated the aide’s position and denied any involvement in the scheme.

Additionally, Miller routinely called out Gov. Greg Abbott for his inaction and held several press conferences challenging Abbott to call for more special sessions of the Legislature to address issues such as property tax reform and banning child gender mutilation procedures.

This offensive push from Miller led to speculation that he would challenge Abbott for the governor’s seat. However, Miller announced his re-election campaign for agricultural commissioner in June 2021 and subsequently received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

His main challenger, former State Rep. James White (R–Hillister), entered the race soon after Miller announced his re-election campaign. White was first elected to the Texas House in 2010 and became a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus in 2021. He served on several committees during his time in office, and he also chaired the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.

The third candidate in the Republican agricultural commissioner primary was U.S. Air Force veteran and college professor Carey Counsil. A largely unknown candidate with no prior experience in government, Counsil campaigned on his time as a rancher and promised to promote the interests of rural Texans if elected.

Miller’s primary election win appears to show conservative Texans are still confident in Miller’s ability to run the agricultural commissioner’s office despite his brush with controversy.

Katy Marshall

Katy graduated from Tarleton State University in 2021 after majoring in history and minoring in political science.

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