UPDATED: See the latest midterm 2022 returns for all Texas races here.
NBC News has projected Republican incumbent Dan Patrick has won another term as Texas lieutenant governor.
Patrick was facing Democratic challenger Mike Collier for the second time in the race for the state's second most powerful office. Collier, an accountant, made a bid for the seat in 2018 but lost the race to Patrick by 4.8 percentage points.
Collier announced he was making another run at the office in April 2021, saying the state’s handling of the pandemic and the deadly blackouts in the winter of February 2021 widened the Democrats’ opportunity to win one of Texas’ most powerful offices.
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As the leader of the Texas Senate, Patrick has campaigned on legislation passed during the past two legislative sessions while beating the drum of border security, crime and rising inflation. He has largely avoided media interviews in favor of reaching out to rural voters directly through his bus tour.
Patrick's campaign announced in October they'd received record-breaking fundraising of $2.2. million from 1,200 donors.
While Patrick touted his fundraising, Collier snared support from two notable Republicans. In September, Republican Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley said he was throwing his support behind Collier because the Houston businessman was someone who understood local control and because the incumbent has repeatedly blamed local officials for high property tax bills.
Patrick responded to the endorsement on Twitter saying the Republican judge "doesn't get it" and that Whitley made Tarrant County property taxes among the highest in the state. Whitley responded to Patrick's tweet, telling the lieutenant governor to check his figures.
TEXAS LT. GOVERNOR'S RACE
Collier also announced in September he'd secured the endorsement of conservative Texas Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Dist. 30). Seliger's district is heavily Republican with 80% voting for Donald Trump in 2020. Patrick's campaign replied to the Seliger announcement by calling them dinosaurs "desperately searching for relevance." Patrick received an endorsement from Democratic State Senator Eddie Lucio Jr., who is retiring.
Collier ran for Texas Comptroller in 2014 and during the 2020 election, he was an adviser to President Joe Biden’s campaign in Texas.
No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
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