Dan Patrick picks sides in Texas attorney general, Railroad Commission GOP runoffs
By Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune
May 5, 2026
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Tuesday threw his support behind state Sen. Mayes Middleton in the GOP primary for Texas attorney general, giving the Galveston Republican a boost in the final weeks of his May 26 runoff against U.S. Rep. Chip Roy.
Patrick also endorsed Railroad Commissioner Jim Wright in his contest against Bo French, the GOP activist and energy investor whose controversial comments have drawn Patrick’s past ire.
In a pair of social media posts, the lieutenant governor said Middleton had “established a record as one of the most conservative senators in Texas history” and that Wright had the experience needed to guide the agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, amid high gas prices and a rocky energy market.
The endorsements from the state’s second-highest elected official came several hours after a new statewide poll found Middleton leading Roy by nine points among likely voters. The Galveston lawmaker has served in the Senate under Patrick, the chamber’s presiding officer, since 2023.
Middleton, an oil and gas businessman, was the top vote-getter in the March 3 primary, in which Roy finished second. The Austin congressman, known for bucking GOP leadership in Washington in pursuit of spending cuts and other crusades, began the race as the favorite but has seen his lead erode against the weight of Middleton’s self-funded campaign.
In lending his backing to Wright, meanwhile, Patrick delivered the latest blow against French, the former Tarrant County GOP chair who has come under scrutiny from other Republicans at times for racist and antisemitic remarks.
Last summer, Patrick called for French’s resignation as party chair after the activist had posted a poll on social media asking whether Jews or Muslims posed a “bigger threat to America.”
“Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party,” Patrick wrote at the time. “Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas.”
French eventually stepped down from that post to run for one of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission. He has campaigned against the “Islamification” of Texas and vowed, if elected, to stop both the “Islamic invasion” of the state and “diversity, equity and inclusion” practices at the agency.
Earlier Tuesday, Wright issued a statement denouncing his opponent’s campaign focus, acknowledging he, too, is concerned about “the alarming Islamification of Texas” but noting that the Railroad Commission has “has no authority to make any policy that would affect this issue.”
“French seems unaware that the Texas oil and gas industry is strictly governed by the laws of the State of Texas and of the United States — not by Sharia law or any laws or rulings from the State of Delaware,” Wright wrote. “Bo is also confused about the constitutional authority of the position he is seeking and the work of the Railroad Commission. He seems to think he is running for the State Legislature.”
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
