Dan Patrick

In an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson on March 23, 2020, Patrick stated that he was willing to risk his life from the coronavirus pandemic if it would avoid an economic shutdown, which he stated would negatively impact subsequent generations. Patrick also stated that he thought many grandparents agreed with him on this. Patrick later moderated his rhetoric while continuing to show skepticism of shutting down the economy.

Patrick worked to increase access to hydroxychloroquine, an unproven drug to treat the coronavirus. On April 7, 2020, Patrick announced the creation of a task force to make recommendations on how to re-open Texas's economy.

In May 2020, Patrick paid a $7,000 fine imposed on a Dallas businesswoman for opening her business during the state's lockdown.

In 2019, Patrick pushed to increase Texas teachers' paychecks by $5,000.

In 2019, Patrick called for requiring background checks for gun sales between two strangers.

In April 2019, Patrick called Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke "light in the loafers", a slur often used to insinuate someone as gay, though O'Rourke is heterosexual. Patrick also called O'Rourke a "moron." Patrick later stated that while he stood by his comments, the insinuation was unintentional.

Patrick again garnered controversy on April 21, when he defended his previous comments on the pandemic by saying "And what I said when I was with you that night, there are more important things than living. And that’s saving this country for my children, and my grandchildren and saving this country for all of us. And I don’t want to die, nobody wants to die, but man, we got to take some risks and get back in the game, and get this country back up and running."

After the 2019 El Paso shooting, Patrick listed factors that he believed contributed to the shooting, starting off with video games, saying, "We've always had guns, always had evil, but I see a video game industry that teaches young people to kill."

At a political rally for President Trump on October 17, 2019, Patrick told a crowd of 20,000 that liberals “are not our opponents, they are our enemy.”

In addition to his own campaign, Patrick was active in endorsing and assisting Republican primary candidates in the Texas Senate, including some challengers to GOP incumbents. Patrick's favored candidates won nearly all the races where Patrick made intraparty endorsements. Later in the year, Patrick donated nearly $175,000 to Texas Senate candidate Pete Flores in a special election; Flores won the election in an upset, increasing Patrick's chances of keeping a three-fifths GOP majority in the Senate after the 2018 elections. Patrick succeeded in maintaining a three-fifths majority in the Senate, though Republican Senator Kel Seliger was considered a possible swing-vote.

On January 9, 2017, the day before the 85th Texas Legislature began its session, Patrick announced he would run for re-election in 2018. He stated his early announcement was in order to dispel rumors that he would challenge Governor Greg Abbott or U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Patrick easily won the Republican primary on March 6, 2018, defeating Rockwall City Council Member Scott Milder.

Patrick made legislation prohibiting state or local governments from issuing subpoenas on pastors' sermons a priority in the 2017 session. Governor Abbott signed the bill into law on May 21, 2017.

In May 2016, Patrick criticized the Obama administration after it released a directive stating that all public schools must allow transgender students to use the bathroom and locker facilities that correspond with their identified gender, stating that, on the prospect of the federal government withholding funding for Texas schools for not following the directive, "he can keep his 30 pieces of silver [and that w]e will not yield to blackmail from the president of the United States." In 2017, Patrick strongly advocated for a bathroom bill that would prohibit transgender students at public schools from using any restroom other than that of their biological sex. Patrick described the legislation as a "legislative priority." Patrick encouraged state Senator Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham to introduce a bathroom bill similar to a previous law adopted in 2016 in North Carolina, and strongly pushed for it at its proposal on January 5, 2017. Texas House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio, a moderate Republican, said that the measure is not an important matter for lower chamber.

Hours after the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, Patrick tweeted a picture of the Bible verse, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7." An adviser released a statement that the tweet had been pre-scheduled, and the tweet was later deleted. Patrick issued a statement on the incident, again stating that the tweet was pre-planned and that "I didn’t pull down the FB post & tweet because God’s word is wrong. His word is never wrong ... I took it down to stop the hateful comments and the misinformation being spread of God’s message to all of us- straight or gay."

Patrick endorsed Texas Senator Ted Cruz for the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and served as his Texas campaign chairman. After businessman Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, Patrick endorsed Trump and eventually became the Texas state chairman for his campaign. Trump won Texas by 9 percentage points, the closest result since 1996. In January 2018, Patrick stated that he considered Presidents Trump and Ronald Reagan as the two greatest presidents in his lifetime, and the Austin American-Statesman described Patrick as an "ardent defender" of Trump.

Patrick, an evangelical Christian, is a member of various Christian organizations, including Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the International Bible Society, and has served as guest pastor of his church, the Second Baptist Church Houston. He is very outspoken about his Christian faith, and he stated in his inauguration speech upon becoming lieutenant governor that "I respect all faiths and religions, but I am a Christian first, a conservative second and a Republican third, and I praise Jesus for this moment and this day." Patrick was baptized in the Jordan River during a trip to Israel in 2016.

Patrick was sworn in on January 20, 2015. Soon after assuming office, the Texas Senate voted to drop the threshold needed to consider a bill from two-thirds to three-fifths, something that Patrick had long supported. Under Patrick, the Senate enforced procedural rules that had long been ignored.

Patrick defeated three-term incumbent David Dewhurst in the primary runoff for lieutenant governor on May 27, 2014. He then won the position in the fall general election. He was re-elected in 2018, defeating Democratic nominee Mike Collier.

Patrick obtained passage of three Senate bills during his first session. The other four freshmen Senators—Glenn Hegar (32 Senate bills passed), Kirk Watson (15 Senate bills passed), Robert Nichols (14 Senate bills passed), and Carlos Uresti (12 bills passed) – had previous government experience in other capacities.

At a candidate forum in College Station in January 2014, Patrick said that he and two other challengers to Dewhurst, Jerry E. Patterson and Todd Staples, could have sought re-election in their current positions as Land Commissioner and Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, respectively, but were instead "putting our positions on the line because we need new leadership. ... An energetic, passionate conservative to lead the Senate."

According to Ross Ramsey of The Texas Tribune, Patrick did not shift to the political middle as the general election approached, contrary to what political candidates typically do. On November 4, 2014, Patrick won the general election against his state Senate colleague, Democrat Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, to become the lieutenant governor-elect of Texas. He was swept into office in a Republican landslide that saw the party retain all statewide elected offices for the fifth consecutive election.

Patrick opposes abortion in cases of incest and rape. In January 2014, when he was asked about exceptions to outlawing abortion, Patrick said, "The only exception would be if the life of the mother was truly in danger…but that is rare."

As Lieutenant Governor, Patrick moved to keep National Guard troops sent to the Texas-Mexico border during the illegal immigration surge of 2014 indefinitely, rather than until March 2015, as originally planned. Patrick's 2015 budget in the Texas Senate called for spending $815 million on border security, which he said was more than the previous seven years combined. Governor Greg Abbott signed the measure—for about $800 million—into law. In a June 2018 interview on Fox Business Network, Patrick estimated that 30 million illegal immigrants lived in the U.S.

On February 26, 2014, following a federal court ruling the Texas ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, Patrick asserted his position that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. He then further stated his intentions to fight such decisions should he be elected to the Lt. Governor's office.

Patrick graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is the first member of his family to graduate from college. After graduating and embarking on a broadcasting career, he changed his name from "Dannie Scott Goeb" to "Dan Goeb Patrick" – informally in 1977 and legally in 2004 – to honor his wife's family and brother-in-law.

On June 26, 2013, Patrick announced he would challenge incumbent David Dewhurst in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor in 2014. This challenge came despite Patrick's enthusiastic endorsement of Dewhurst in his failed 2012 bid for the U.S. Senate. Patrick stated that while he had been planning on retiring from politics after his Senate term ended, he decided to run for lieutenant governor after Dewhurst failed to end fellow State Senator Wendy Davis's filibuster of Texas Senate Bill 5 and after Senator Jane Nelson refused to run herself.

In his race for lieutenant governor, Patrick was endorsed in July 2013 by Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas who ran unsuccessfully for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. In 2012, Huckabee had also endorsed David Dewhurst for the U.S. Senate nomination for the seat vacated by Kay Bailey Hutchison. Victory went, however, to the Republican Ted Cruz.

At the candidate forum, Patrick described education as a key issue in his campaign because of the 25 percent statewide high school drop-out rate, rising to 40 to 50 percent in the inner cities. He stated that "we do not have a future in the state of Texas if we have half of the next adult population – majority being Hispanic – don't have a high school degree." Patrick said that as lieutenant governor, he would work to secure the border with Mexico and to abolish sanctuary cities and in-state tuition for illegal immigrants. He also called for lowering property taxes.

In May 2012, acrimony between Patrick and fellow Republican state senator John Carona was widely reported throughout Texas. In an email exchange, Patrick accused Carona of spreading false rumors about Patrick's marriage. Carona denied that, and additionally denied having commented on Patrick's sexuality. Carona further said to Patrick: "I've never been shy about sharing my dislike and distrust of you. Put bluntly, I believe you are a snake oil salesman, a narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself." News reports suggest that the feud was motivated by positioning to succeed David Dewhurst as lieutenant governor should Dewhurst have won a seat as U.S. senator, in 2012.

In November 2012, Patrick asked Texas attorney general Greg Abbott's office to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of government entities providing domestic partner insurance benefits. An amendment to the Texas Constitution in 2005 limits marriage to heterosexual relationships and prohibits similar, alternative legal arrangements. Patrick did not disclose his own views on same-sex marriage or civil unions for same-sex couples. He told the Houston Chronicle that his request was prompted by Dallas County's November 2012 decision and an Austin-area public school district's October 2012 decision to join other Texas cities and counties in extending benefits to their unmarried employees' heterosexual or homosexual partners.

Patrick opposes abortion and supported Texas' "Mandatory Ultrasound Bill", a bill signed into law in May 2011 by Governor Perry, which requires women seeking abortion to have a sonogram of the fetus taken at least twenty-four hours before the abortion is performed.

In February 2011, Patrick, who at the time was vice chairman of the Texas senate's Committee on Education, spoke in favor of cutting an unspecified number of non-teaching positions from the state's public school districts, citing positions such as "math department supervisors" or "curriculum experts". At the time, Patrick cited a statistic later determined to be misleading by PolitiFact.com that Texas's 1,200+ public school districts, considered as a group, are the fifth-largest employer in the world.

In the 2010 general election, Patrick was reelected with 86.4% of the vote. He also endorsed Rick Perry for re-election in the 2010 election. Soon after winning re-election, Patrick announced, and subsequently created, a Tea Party Caucus in the Texas state legislature, which at its creation had 48 legislative members.

In November 2008, Patrick began work to produce The Heart of Texas, a movie based on a real-life story of two families in Simonton, a small Houston-area city. The movie was released the next year on DVD.

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Patrick began his career as a radio and television broadcaster. After forming a chain of sports bars and subsequently going bankrupt, he became a radio host again, this time becoming a conservative commentator. From 2007 to 2015, Patrick was a Republican member of the Texas Senate for the 7th District, which included a small portion of the city of Houston and several Houston-area suburbs located mostly in northwest Harris County.

Patrick was first elected to Texas State Senate's seventh district in 2006, winning the primary election with 68.8% of the vote and the general election with 69.2% of the vote. His term began on January 9, 2007 with the convening of the Eightieth Texas Legislature.

By February 2006, Patrick already owned one radio station. In 2006, Patrick signed a deal to purchase radio station KMGS AM 1160 in Highland Park, Texas (now KBDT). By 2013, Patrick was the majority owner of two radio stations, in Houston and Dallas radio markets. Patrick continued broadcasting after his election as a State Senator, and he continued to own KSEV after his election as lieutenant governor.

Patrick proposed a boycott of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect over controversial statements made by the comedian following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Patrick is also frequently at odds with the Houston Chronicle and announced a boycott of that newspaper in April 2004. He owned a blog called Chronically Biased, which criticized the newspaper.

Patrick first considered running for the United States House of Representatives in 2004.

While growing up, Patrick and his family were "not very religious." After moving to Houston, he and his wife attended a Catholic church, but he joined a Baptist church soon after learning about it. Though Patrick was a member of the Second Baptist Church Houston since 1992, he stated he was not truly a Christian until March 1994, when, on a television-and-radio convention in Las Vegas, he repented of his sins, committed his life to God, and was saved. After this, Patrick's faith became an important part of his life, and he considered going into Christian ministry for a time.

After his bankruptcy, Patrick "reinvented himself." He became a conservative talk radio host in the 1990s. He began by buying a four-hour timeslot at AM 700 KSEV (then called KTBT) in the summer of 1987. He originally was a sports radio host, operating out of his remaining sports bar. However, he was able to take over the radio station in 1988, and he switched to politics shortly afterward. He hosted a conservative radio talk show. The program, Dan Patrick & Friends, was broadcast in the Houston radio market on KSEV and in Dallas on AM 1160 KVCE. He used the pseudonym Dan Scott as a radio host, and he adopted his current name at the request of the person who hired him in order to avoid confusing Patrick with another anchor at a competitor station with the last name of Scott.

Patrick grew successful and influential through his talk radio career. He earned high name recognition. As a talk radio host, Patrick advocated for fiscal conservatism, evangelical Christian values on social issues, and he became a vocal opponent of illegal immigration. He was also known as a populist. Patrick's talk radio career was instrumental to his political rise, including his election and influence in the State Senate and his eventual election as lieutenant governor. One notable decision Patrick made as the owner of a talk radio station was to sign Rush Limbaugh, who was not well known at the time, to be heard on KSEV in 1989, via radio syndication. Limbaugh's success as a national talk show host helped raise the popularity of Patrick's radio station.

When the oil boom ended, Houston's economy fell, something which fatally hurt Patrick's sports bar chain. In 1986, after the sports bars failed, Patrick filed for personal bankruptcy. In October 1992, the case was closed, discharging several hundred thousand dollars in remaining debts. Patrick, who stated it took him 10 years for him and his family "to regain financial equilibrium," has frequently and openly discussed the ordeal and stated how it shaped him as an individual and conservative.

As a broadcaster, Patrick was able to get attention through various stunts, such as painting himself blue in support for the Houston Oilers and wearing a large cowboy hat. He became the second most popular TV personality in Houston by 1983, as well as one of the most well-known, though surveys also found that he was one of the most disliked. Patrick also had excellent public speaking skills, which caused him to be nicknamed "the Silver-tongued Devil." Patrick left his job at KHOU in the mid-1980s after failing to reach an agreement with the station's new ownership for a long-term contract.

In November 1983, Patrick and several investors opened one of the first sports bars in the U.S., which they named Dan and Nick's Sportsmarket. The bar did well for a time, due to "the strength of Patrick’s personality" and an oil boom in Houston at the time, and they eventually took ownership of five sports bars in the city. Patrick's mother was the company bookkeeper. Questions later arose during the 2014 lieutenant governor's race about the immigration status of one of Patrick's employees, Miguel "Mike" Andrade. Patrick and Andrade offered different recollections about Andrade's employment. The matter was raised by one of Patrick's opponents, Jerry Patterson, who questioned Patrick's declared commitment to halt illegal immigration.

Patrick's first marriage ended in divorce. His second wife is Janetlea "Jan" Patricia Rankin, a former teacher. The couple was married in 1975 and lives in the Houston suburb of Cypress. They have two children, Ryan and Shane. Ryan served as a district judge from Harris County, Texas, and swore in his father in 2015, for his term as lieutenant governor of Texas. In July 2017, Ryan Patrick was chosen to be U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas by U.S. President Donald Trump, and the United States Senate subsequently confirmed him.

Patrick started his first radio job in 1968 at the age of 18. After college, in 1977, he became a television broadcaster at WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Patrick later held a similar position at WTTG in Washington, D.C., before he became the lead sportscaster with KHOU-TV in Houston.

Dan Goeb Patrick (born Dannie Scott Goeb; April 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host, television broadcaster, and politician. He has served as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Texas since January 2015, under Greg Abbott.

Patrick was born "Dannie Scott Goeb" in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 4, 1950. He was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in East Baltimore. He is the only child of the former Vilma Jean Marshall (1926–2016) and Charles Anthony Goeb (1926–2002), who worked at the Baltimore Sun for thirty-one years as a newspaper vendor, before he retired in 1984.