Patrick Senate Allies Toss Support
to Black State Rep in Statewide Bid
Capitol Inside
January 6, 2022
A pair of conservative state senators added their names on Thursday to a growing list of Republican lawmakers who are breaking ranks with Donald Trump with their support for State Rep. James White in a bid to oust Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in the March primary election.
State Senators Charles Perry of Lubbock and Drew Springer of Muenster issued endorsements to White in an email that listed 15 state representatives, State Senator Robert Nichols of Jacksonville and U.S. Rep. Brian Babin of Houston in the outgoing East Texas state representative's camp as well.
Springer and Perry have been among Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's loyal allies in the Texas Legislature's upper chamber. Patrick played a highly valuable role in Springer's election to the Senate when he defeated COVID-19 mandates protestor Shelley Luther in a special election in late 2020.
Patrick's personal choice for an upcoming Texas Senate opening on the coast - State Rep. Mayes Middleton of Galveston - is backing White over the incumbent in the first round of the farm boss race as a member of a group that includes a mix of rural and suburban House Republicans.
Miller still appears to remain a significant favorite on paper in the March 1 primary as a candidate who's riding a glowing recommendation that he received earlier this week from Trump.
White, a resident of the tiny town of Hillister, finds his challenge complicated in the statewide race by the fact that he is Black. That could be a liability in a primary for a party that has record numbers of white supremacists like most of the Trump backers who attacked the U.S. Capitol one year ago today.
Miller runs the risk - however - of putting all of his eggs in a the wrong basket with the vigorous thumbs up from the ex-leader who Democratic President Joe Biden ousted last year by a sizeable margin of victory.
While Trump has intensified his grip on the GOP since his loss at the polls in 2020, there seems to be swelling sentiment in Republican ranks that the anniversary of the January 6 riot on Thursday could be the first tenpin to fall in the former president's eventual fizzling with the conservative base.
Trump sent shivers of doubt through party circles this week when he cancelled a press conference that he'd planned to stage today. Miller announced Trump's endorsement shortly before the fallen leader ripped the plug from the Mar-a-Lago media event that he'd hyped with massive fanfare.
The Texas House members who've rallied behind White include GOP State Reps. Brad Buckley of Salado, Dustin Burrows of Lubbock, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Travis Clardy of Nacogdoches, Jay Dean of Longview, James Frank of Wichita Falls, Cody Harris of Palestine, Jacey Jetton of Sugar Land, Ben Leman of Iola, Jared Patterson of Frisco, Scott Sanford of McKinney, Matt Schaefer of Tyler, Matt Shaheen of Planel and Phil Stephenson of Wharton. |
