The field of candidates for the Texas lieutenant governor race is growing, and filing for the position hasn’t even officially opened. In recent weeks, several contenders have appeared to challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for his position overseeing the Texas Senate.
Two challengers, Matthew Dowd and Mike Collier, are Democrats who will face each other in a primary before even getting a swing at Patrick. Collier ran against the incumbent in 2018, losing by about 5 percent of the vote. Dowd previously served as an advisor to the Bush administration before defecting in the late 2000s to the Democrat Party.
On the Republican side of the race, things are heating up. Trayce Bradford, a conservative activist and former president of the Texas Eagle Forum, previously announced that she would challenge Patrick in a primary. And now, yet another candidate has entered the race. Daniel Miller, the president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, wants to be the next lieutenant governor of Texas.
Miller made the announcement in a virtual event streamed online on Wednesday. In the video, he blames Patrick for not doing enough to push issues such as border security, tax abolition, and medical freedom.
I will stand as a bulwark against encroachments on liberty and against the insider politics of the Texas Legislature. As president of the Senate, I will ensure that business is conducted transparently and end the backroom deals that leave the people of Texas out of the discussion. I will give a voice to the people of Texas in determining their political future and reasserting the independence of Texas. I will unapologetically stand for life, liberty, prosperity, and property and never back down on our right to be a self-governing, independent nation.
Miller currently serves as president of the Texas Nationalist Movement, which describes itself as an organization committed to a number of conservative and libertarian principles such as self-governance, abolishing taxes, and protecting the family. Most notably, they specifically hold that Texas would be better off as a truly “free and independent state,” as is written in Article 1 of the Texas Constitution.
Miller called on Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this year during the main legislative session to allow Texans to vote on a proposal to secede from the United States and become a republic.
State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R–Fredericksburg) submitted a proposal in the Texas House for a referendum vote on secession, but the proposal was not given a committee hearing.
Although “Texit” failed to gain traction in the Texas House, frustration has continued to grow with the all-Republican Texas Legislature. Texans are now irate as ever, and Daniel Miller believes he can knock Patrick off of his pedestal.
The Republican primary election is slated for March 1, 2022.
