Patrick will get another four years leading the Texas Senate, one of the state’s most powerful positions.

The 11-point margin is one of the wider advantages Abbott has registered among likely voters in a public survey yet. Abbott had a smaller 5-point advantage in the last UT poll, which was done in August, though that was among registered voters.

Patrick’s campaign strategy in rural Texas may suggest he’s trying to shore up the party’s most reliable base of voters in an area that both Beto O’Rourke and Mike Collier have spent considerable resources to win over this election cycle.

Tune in on Monday as candidates for statewide offices speak with Texas Tribune reporters Patrick Svitek and James Barragán at the 2022 Texas Disability Issues Forum.

For example, members of the Railroad Commission don’t deal with railroads. Here’s what the many officials elected statewide do with the power voters give them.

In his second attempt to oust the incumbent, Collier is actively courting Republican voters who are turned off by the Legislature’s hard-right turn in recent years.

Help us prioritize the policy issues and election questions we should report on ahead of the November midterms.

Collier came within 4 percentage points of unseating the incumbent in 2018. But this year, Democrats face even stronger headwinds in trying to unseat Texas Republicans.

The winner will face a tough challenge against Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Mike Collier, Carla Brailey and Michelle Beckley are facing off for the Democratic nomination in the lieutenant governor race. Financially, the three candidates are outmatched by Dan Patrick’s $25 million war chest.

Republican leaders defend their record on the power grid, pointing to more than a dozen laws passed during this year’s legislative session to address the grid’s reliability. Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his reputation on a promise that the lights won't go out this winter.

The GOP slate for statewide office includes two high-profile Latinos and two Black candidates who have previously held state or federal office. Republicans are making a play to be more competitive with voters of color as the state’s electorate grows more diverse.

The Carrollton Democrat hopes Beto O’Rourke’s run for governor will help down-ballot Democrats next year.

Collier says his 2018 close call against Patrick was no fluke. Next year, he’s out to prove that his campaign can make a real challenge to the two-term incumbent.

Dowd said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has focused on “culture war” issues to divide and hurt Texans.