In letter, Tarrant County judge urges colleagues to back Mike Collier for TX lieutenant governor

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is encouraging county leaders across the state to join him in supporting Mike Collier for lieutenant governor.

Whitley, a Republican who isn’t seeking reelection, in September announced his support for Democrat Mike Collier over Republican Incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Whitley has been critical of Patrick’s property tax policy and his relationship with local government.

In a letter Whitley reiterated his support for Collier as a “Texan who I feel is the best person for the job.” Whitley told the Star-Telegram he sent the letter to the state’s county judges and commissioners on Monday. The letter was reported by the Quorum Report on Tuesday and shared by Collier’s campaign in a Thursday news release.

“Dan Patrick has divided this state and made Austin as bad as D.C.,” the letter reads. “This November, we have an opportunity to elect a Lt. Governor who will put aside partisan politics and work with local leaders of both parties to deliver real solutions for the people of Texas. I know Mike will do that.”

Following Whitley’s letter, he and fellow Republicans — former U.S. Rep. and former Dallas Mayor Steve Bartlett, former state Rep. Byron Cook of Corsicana, state Rep. Lyle Larson of San Antonio, state Sen. Kel Seliger of Amarillo and former state Rep. Bennett Ratliff of Dallas — wrote an open letter supporting Collier. Like Whitley, Larson and Seliger are not running for reelection.

“Each of these six gentlemen all came to the same conclusion – that they were out of step with the voters – as evidenced by the fact that they are now supporting a Joe Biden clone,” said Patrick’s Chief Strategist Allen Blakemore in an emailed statement. “The last time they exercised sound judgement was when they chose retirement rather than face certain defeat in the next election. Mike Collier should have followed their lead.”

Former Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Ratliff has also endorsed Collier.

“Texas deserves a Lt. Governor who will stand up to the extremes and stand up for Texans,” Collier, a former Republican, said in a statement.

In a statement in September, Blakemore dismissed Whitley’s support for Collier as a “dinosaur, flailing about looking to Biden Democrats like Mike Collier in a search for relevance.” At the time, he pointed out that the lieutenant governor has been endorsed by Texas’ returning Republican state senators and Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., a Brownsville Democrat. Patrick touted Lucio’s endorsement and his travels in South Texas in a Wednesday campaign email subject-lined “Democrats Switching to the Republican Party!”

A The Dallas Morning News-UT-Tyler poll taken Sept. 6-13 put Patrick ahead of Collier by 11 percentage points. Patrick reported $2.3 million in contributions between July 1-Sept. 29 and $16.8 million dollars on hand and the end of the filing period. Collier reported $1.4 million in contributions and nearly $923,000 on hand.

Whitley hosted a campaign event for Collier in Fort Worth in September.

“I hope that people will listen,” he said. “I hope that people will consider what I’ve said in there.”

Election Day is Nov. 8. Early voting begins Oct. 24.