During The Texan’s 88th Session Kickoff event on Tuesday, Patrick told The Texan Senior Editor McKenzie DiLullo that he “absolutely” plans to run again in 2026.
“Absolutely I’m going to run in ‘26, and here’s the reason: I really love what I do,” Patrick said, adding, “I actually do have the easiest job of everyone in the Senate, the senators really work hard; I like the people I work with.”
Patrick elaborated on some inner workings of the chamber, describing how while there is still partisan disagreement on policy issues, the members are respectful of each other and develop close friendships while serving together.
“I like the people I work with, and look I have friends I work with across the aisle,” Patrick explained. “Now they’re not happy because they don’t get some of their bills passed, but we are respectful of each other.”
The lieutenant governor also described how the 31 members of his chamber must deal with all of the legislation sent up from the 150 members in the House, which constitutes a higher workload. But, he added, while they all have a lot of work to do, they can achieve their goals while avoiding the “nastiness” of politics.
“Politics shouldn’t be ugly or nasty,” Patrick said. “We ought to be able to conduct politics and have honest disagreement, and work really hard to block your bill if you’re on the other side or really hard to pass a bill, but at the end of the day we ought to respect each other. In the Senate, that holds true.”
“I think we’ll be in good shape in ‘26 in the primary and the general,” he speculated. “If the Republicans will do what the people ask us to do, we will hold power for a long time, because we are converting so many Hispanic voters all over the state and getting out more voters each election that I think the future is bright for Texas.”
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Matt Stringer
Matt Stringer is a reporter for The Texan who writes about all things government, politics, and public policy. He graduated from Odessa College with an Associate Degree in Paralegal Studies and a Bachelor’s Degree in Management and Leadership. In his free time, you will find him in the great outdoors, usually in the Davis Mountains and Big Bend region of Southwest Texas.
