Dan Patrick: For Sale to the Highest Bidder — Not for Texas

Texas Ethics Commission filings show Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick received a $250,000 contribution from John Nau III — CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors, Texas's largest Anheuser-Busch beer wholesaler — on April 12, 2024. Then on December 2, 2024, the Beer Alliance of Texas PAC added another $25,000. Transparency USA data shows cumulative alcohol-sector giving to Patrick running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars across recent cycles. In 2024, "Beer, Wine & Liquor" ranked among his top contributing industries.

He then aggressively pushed the DSHS "total THC" rules that banned smokable and consumable hemp-derived THC products (including THCA flower) effective March 31, 2026. Alcohol sales? Completely untouched. Critics called it selective enforcement that protected his donors' turf. The timing is documented in public campaign finance records; readers can draw their own conclusions about the relationship between the donation and the policy.

In 2007 the Texas Ethics Commission found credible evidence that then-State Senator Dan Patrick improperly reported approximately $73,500 in political expenditures as vague "reimbursements" without required vendor details or purposes — violating the Texas Election Code. He corrected the filings and the matter was resolved via Agreed Resolution SC-2612262.

Public records also show instances of late campaign filings that drew reduced penalties. One documented example appears in TEC meeting minutes from 2013; additional instances are on file in public TEC records.

While presiding as judge over Ken Paxton's 2023 Senate impeachment trial, Patrick accepted $3 million from Defend Texas Liberty PAC (a $1 million donation + $2 million loan) — the group actively campaigning against Paxton's removal. He had also personally loaned Paxton $125,000, still outstanding at the time. His own legal counsel faced conflict issues. Patrick defended keeping the money, saying he also took funds from the "other side."

On Fox News in March 2020, Patrick suggested grandparents like himself would "volunteer to die" to keep the economy open rather than shut down for the pandemic.

In August 2021, amid the Delta surge, he claimed on Fox that "the biggest group in most states" of unvaccinated people driving hospitalizations were "African Americans who have not been vaccinated" — and noted they vote heavily Democratic. Fact-checkers and Houston officials called the statement false or misleading; Texas data did not support it as the primary driver. This site quotes those fact-check findings directly.

In November 2020 Patrick offered up to $1 million from his campaign funds for tips leading to voter-fraud convictions, claiming Democrats were trying to steal the election. No widespread fraud was ever proven in Texas.

The first notable payout? $25,000 to a Pennsylvania Democrat who reported a Republican voting twice.

Patrick stripped longtime Republican Sen. Kel Seliger of his Agriculture Committee chairmanship in January 2019 after Seliger made a crude remark about a Patrick aide and had crossed him on policy.

In February 2026 the Texas Democratic Party demanded an investigation into Patrick for allegedly violating his own Senate Bill 1 with misleading official mailers that directed voters to bypass county clerks — the very election integrity law he championed.

In March 2026, newly elected state Sen. Taylor Rehmet (D-Fort Worth) — who had just flipped a long-held Republican seat in Tarrant County — received zero committee assignments. Rehmet publicly accused Patrick of "petty, partisan politics" and leaving his district without a voice. Patrick has a documented history of using committee assignments as loyalty tests.

Patrick made a total THC ban (SB 3) his top 2025 legislative priority. Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed it on June 22, 2025, citing "valid constitutional challenges" that would tie up courts for years. Abbott called a special session to pursue regulation instead — age 21+, ID checks, school and church buffer zones.

Patrick publicly ripped Abbott, calling the governor's approach "de facto legalization of marijuana." The Texas Tribune called it "a rare break between two of the most powerful Republicans in Texas." The special session failed to produce a deal. Patrick's top priority ended in defeat.

Dan Patrick banned hemp products on March 31, 2026. The substances his biggest donors sell? Still completely legal. The CDC reports excessive alcohol use causes approximately 178,000 deaths per year nationally. Texas consistently ranks among the top states for drunk-driving fatalities.

The Texas DSHS reports drug poisoning deaths in Texas increased 68% from 2019 to 2024. In 2023, drug poisoning was the leading cause of injury-related death for Texans aged 24–69. The Perryman Group estimates the opioid crisis costs Texas $50.1 billion in gross product every year and more than 516,800 jobs annually. Patrick has not made alcohol regulation or opioid treatment a signature priority.