Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick recovering from covid-19, campaign says

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tested positive for covid-19 on Dec. 27 and experienced mild symptoms, his campaign announced Monday.

Patrick began testing negative starting on New Year’s Day and is completing his time in quarantine at his Houston home, said Allen Blakemore, senior adviser to Patrick’s campaign.

“His symptoms were mild, and no one else in the household was infected,” Blakemore said. “He continues working from home and will return to a public schedule by the end of the week.”

Patrick has been vaccinated and received the booster, Blakemore said.

The Republican is seeking a third four-year term as lieutenant governor, the presiding officer of the Texas Senate, where he oversaw the strictest covid-19 policies enacted at the Capitol during the 2021 regular and special legislative sessions, including mandatory testing for access to the Senate floor and committee hearings.

After Gov. Greg Abbott called on the Legislature to pass a law banning vaccine mandates during the third special session in October, Patrick announced that he had been vaccinated but opposed mandates. He also said the Senate would take swift action on Abbott’s priority, but a ban on vaccine mandates failed to advance amid stout opposition from business groups.

Patrick faces five challengers in the March 1 Republican primary: conservative activist Trayce Bradford; abortion opponent Todd Bullis; Texas secession leader Daniel Miller; Fort Worth business owner Aaron Sorrells; and retired military officer Zach Vance.

The Democratic primary will have three candidates: state Rep. Michelle Beckley of Carrollton; Carla Brailey, vice chair of the Texas Democratic Party; and Mike Collier, an accountant and former oil company official who lost to Patrick in 2018.