Miller, ‘Trump’s man in Texas,’ fends off challenge
Patrick will face Democrat Collier for lieutenant governor
AUSTIN — The popular bighat-wearing rodeo cowboy who roped himself into a string of controversies in his first term was leading by a solid margin in the Republican Party primary race for agriculture commissioner late Tuesday, overcoming a challenger who was promising to restore integrity to the office.
Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was easily outdistancing Trey Blocker, a former ethics lawyer and lobbyist who runs a conservative podcast, and Jim Hogan, a former insurance agent and farmer who refused to campaign. Blocker and Hogan were neck-and-neck for second place.
In other races, conservative Houston Republican Dan Patrick was handily winning his race for another four-year term to lead the Texas Senate, outpacing those for his challenger, Scott Milder, who is seen as a public school champion. In the Democratic primary, businessman Michael Collier led retired automobile executive Michael Cooper.
The race for agriculture commissioner was viewed by many as a litmus test on whether GOP voters will overlook a candidate’s past indiscretions so long as his brand of Republicanism matches theirs.
Blocker, a conservative Republican like Miller, sought to test the theory, opting to run a campaign based on lower taxes and chiding Miller as corrupt and unethical as well as a hindrance to those who do business overseen by the department.
“You know as they say, it ain’t my first rodeo. I’ve been through this before,” Miller said at his election night party in an Austin bar. “It’s been a long grueling campaign, we put a lot of hard work into it.”
Miller is finishing his first term in office and began his tenure by taking two taxpayerfunded out-of-state trips: one to Oklahoma to obtain a so-called Jesus shot, billed to take away all pain for life; the other to Mississippi to compete in a rodeo. Miller, who later paid the state back, said he was trying to meet with state officials in those states and struggled to navigate how to properly take those trips. Texas Rangers, who investigated the trips, declined to bring charges.
Miller has also raised department fees and issued some $400,000 in bonuses to department employees in his first nine months. Several industries are frustrated with Miller. Some barbecue restaurant owners have dogged him for enforcing long-ignored rules that barbecue restaurants keep certified scales where customers can see them, although others have stuck by Miller this election.
Dubbed “Trump’s man in Texas” by President Donald Trump, Miller is backed by political celebrities including Energy Secretary and former Gov. Rick Perry, immigration hardliner and former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Joe the Plumber. Miller commands a massive social media following with more than 660,000 people following his Facebook page. However, several controversies have stemmed from his social media accounts.
The commissioner is responsible for overseeing a $6 billion agency that spends all but about $1 billion administering the National School Lunch Program. The department also inspects gas pumps and checks the integrity of food scales at restaurants and grocery stores. The Department of Agriculture also regulates the use of pesticides on crops like corn fields, cotton fields and vineyards, and also facilitates the export of cattle around the world.
The winner goes on to face retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson in the November election.
In other statewide races:
Joi Lynne Chevalier, founder and owner of The Cook’s Nook, narrowly led against attorney Tim Mahoney in the Democratic primary for comptroller of public accounts. The winner faces off against incumbent Glenn Hegar in the general election
Six-year incumbent Christi Craddick took a commanding lead against businessman Weston Martinez in the Republican primary for railroad commissioner. In the Democratic primary, urban planner Roman McAllen appeared to best financial consultant Chris Spellmon.
For the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Fifth Court of Appeals Justice David Bridges appeared to lose his challenge against Presiding Judge Sharon Faye Keller in the Republican primary for Place 1 on the bench. The winner goes on to run against Democrat Maria T. (Terri) Jackson in the November election.
In Place 8 on the same court is a three-way Republican race between prosecutor and attorney Jay Brandon, District Judge Michelle Slaughter and District Judge Dibrell and Wayne Waldrip. Slaughter led early Tuesday.
andrea.zelinski@chron.com twitter.com/andreazelinski