Dan Goeb Patrick (born Dannie Scott Goeb; April 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host, television broadcaster, and politician serving since 2015 as the 42nd lieutenant governor of Texas.
Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Patrick began his career as a radio and television broadcaster. After forming a chain of sports bars and subsequently going bankrupt, he became a radio host again, this time becoming a conservative commentator. From 2007 to 2015, Patrick was a Republican member of the Texas Senate for the 7th District, which included a small portion of the city of Houston and several Houston-area suburbs located mostly in northwest Harris County.
Patrick defeated three-term incumbent David Dewhurst in the primary runoff for lieutenant governor on May 27, 2014.Dan Patrick wins GOP nomination for Texas lieutenant governor -Terrence Stutz and Robert Garrett, Dallas Morning News He then won the position in the fall general election. He was re-elected in 2018 and 2022, defeating Democratic nominee Mike Collier both times. He is set to face Vikki Goodwin in the 2026 election.
Early life Patrick was born Dannie Scott Goeb in Baltimore on April 4, 1950. He was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in East Baltimore. He is the only child of the former Vilma Jean Marshall (1926–2016) and Charles Anthony Goeb (1926–2002), who worked at The Baltimore Sun for thirty-one years as a newspaper vendorSan Antonio Express-News, April 17, 2014. before retiring in 1984.
Patrick graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is the first member of his family to graduate from college. After graduating and embarking on a broadcasting career, he changed his name from "Dannie Scott Goeb" to "Dan Goeb Patrick" – informally in 1977 and legally in 2004 – to honor his wife's family and brother-in-law.
Broadcasting and business career Radio and television Patrick started his first radio job in 1968 at the age of 18. After college, in 1977, he became a television broadcaster at WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Patrick later held a similar position at WTTG in Washington, D.C., before he became the lead sportscaster with KHOU-TV in Houston.
As a broadcaster, Patrick got attention through various stunts, such as painting himself blue in support for the Houston Oilers and wearing a large cowboy hat. He became the second most popular TV personality in Houston by 1983, as well as one of the most well-known, though surveys also found that he was one of the most disliked. Patrick's public speaking skills caused him to be nicknamed "the Silver-tongued Devil." Patrick left his job at KHOU in the mid-1980s after failing to reach an agreement with Belo Corporation (which bought KHOU-TV in 1984) for a long-term contract.
Sports bar chain In November 1983, Patrick and several investors opened one of the first sports bars in the U.S., which they named Dan and Nick's Sportsmarket. The bar did well for a time, due to "the strength of Patrick's personality" and an oil boom in Houston at the time, and they eventually took ownership of five sports bars in the city.
When the oil boom of the mid 1980s ended and the 1980s oil glut began, Houston's economy went into decline and fiscally damaged Patrick's sports bar chain. In 1986, after the sports bars failed, Patrick filed for personal bankruptcy and in October 1992, discharged several hundred thousand dollars of debt obligation. Patrick, who stated it took 10 years for him and his family "to regain financial equilibrium," has frequently and openly discussed the ordeal and stated how it shaped him as an individual and conservative.
Conservative talk radio host Following bankruptcy, Patrick reinvented himself as a conservative talk radio host in the 1990s. He began by buying a four-hour timeslot at AM 700 KSEV (then called KTBT) in the summer of 1987. He originally was a sports radio host, operating out of his remaining sports bar. However, he was able to take over the radio station in 1988, and he switched to politics shortly afterward. He hosted a conservative radio talk show. The program, Dan Patrick & Friends, was broadcast in the Houston radio market on KSEV and in Dallas on AM 1160 KVCE. Initially he broadcast under the pseudonym Dan Scott as a radio host, later changing to the current name at the request of his employer to avoid confusion of Patrick with another anchor at a competing station with the last name of Scott.
Patrick grew successful and influential through his talk radio career. He earned high name recognition. As a talk radio host, Patrick advocated for fiscal conservatism, evangelical Christian values on social issues, and he became a vocal opponent of illegal immigration. He was also known as a populist. Patrick's talk radio career was instrumental to his political rise, including his election and influence in the State Senate and his eventual election as lieutenant governor. One notable decision Patrick made as the owner of a talk radio station was to sign relative unknown Rush Limbaugh for airing on KSEV in 1989 via radio syndication. Limbaugh's success as a national talk show host helped increase ratings of Patrick's radio station.
In addition to radio, Patrick anchored The Patrick Report, a half-hour news program which aired on Houston television station KTBU during 2001. Patrick was also general manager of KTBU. By February 2006, Patrick already owned one radio station. In 2006, Patrick signed a deal to purchase radio station KMGS AM 1160 in Highland Park, Texas (now KBDT). By 2013, Patrick was the majority owner of two radio stations, in Houston and Dallas radio markets. Patrick continued broadcasting after his election as a State Senator, and he continued to own KSEV after his election as lieutenant governor.
Other In November 2008, Patrick began work to produce The Heart of Texas, a movie based on a real-life story of two families in Simonton, a small Houston-area city. The movie was released the next year on DVD.
Patrick proposed a boycott of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect over controversial statements made by the comedian following the 9/11 terrorist attacks."Beyond City Limits: Dan Patrick, Fairness Isn't Enough for Dan", Austin Chronicle, April 12, 2007. Patrick is also frequently at odds with the Houston Chronicle and announced a boycott of that newspaper in April 2004.Abrahams, Tom. "Radio talk show host launches boycott against local newspaper", ABC-TV 13 Houston, April 9, 2004. He owned a blog called Chronically Biased, which criticized the newspaper.
Early political career Patrick first considered running for the United States House of Representatives in 2004.
Texas Senate
Patrick was first elected to the Texas State Senate's seventh district in 2006, winning the primary election with 68.8% of the vote and the general election with 69.2% of the vote. His term began on January 9, 2007, with the convening of the Eightieth Texas Legislature.
In the 2010 general election, Patrick was reelected with 86.4% of the vote. He also endorsed Rick Perry for re-election in the 2010 election. Soon after winning re-election, Patrick announced, and subsequently created, a Tea Party Caucus in the Texas state legislature, which at its creation had 48 legislative members.Grissom, Brandi (December 16, 2010) – "Sen. Dan Patrick Announces Tea Party Caucus". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
Patrick obtained passage of three Senate bills during his first session. In the Senate, Patrick actively advocated for a "fiercely conservative agenda." At the time, few of his proposals passed.
W. Gardner Selby, editor of the Austin American-Statesman'''s "PolitiFact Texas", listed Patrick as third among the top 10 Republican political influencers in Texas.(Texas Influencers, August 2010). Patrick is also listed in Texas Monthly as one of the state's most powerful players.(Power Company, February 2011).
During his first month as a legislator, Patrick introduced legislation to make abortion in Texas illegal should the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade.
In May 2012, acrimony between Patrick and fellow Republican state senator John Carona was widely reported throughout Texas. In an email exchange, Patrick accused Carona of spreading false rumors about Patrick's marriage. Carona denied that, and additionally denied having commented on Patrick's sexuality. Carona further said to Patrick: "I've never been shy about sharing my dislike and distrust of you. Put bluntly, I believe you are a snake oil salesman, a narcissist that would say anything to draw attention to himself." News reports suggested the feud was motivated by positioning to succeed David Dewhurst as lieutenant governor should Dewhurst have won a seat as U.S. senator in 2012.
Committee assignments Committee on Education (Chair) Committee on Criminal Justice Committee on Finance Committee on Health & Human Services Committee on Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Matters Subcommittee on Public Education Funding Subcommittee on Higher Education Funding
Lieutenant governor of Texas 2014 campaign
On June 26, 2013, Patrick announced he would challenge incumbent David Dewhurst in the Republican primary for lieutenant governor in 2014. This challenge came despite Patrick's enthusiastic endorsement of Dewhurst in his failed 2012 bid for the U.S. Senate. Patrick stated that while he had been planning on retiring from politics after his Senate term ended, he decided to run for lieutenant governor after Dewhurst failed to end fellow State Senator Wendy Davis's filibuster of Texas Senate Bill 5 and after Senator Jane Nelson refused to run herself.
Patrick led the four-candidate field in the primary with 550,769 votes (41.5%). Dewhurst followed with 376,196 (28.3%); Staples, with 235,981 (17.8%), and Patterson, 165,787 (12.5%). Election watchers did not expect Patrick to get first place. In the runoff election on May 27, Patrick won with 487,829 votes (65.1%), defeating Dewhurst, who had 262,086 votes (34.9%). Patrick's victory was one of several notable primary victories by Tea Party movement-aligned Republicans in the election runoff.
According to Ross Ramsey of The Texas Tribune, Patrick did not shift to the political middle as the general election approached, contrary to what political candidates typically do. On November 4, 2014, Patrick won the general election against his state Senate colleague, Democrat Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, to become the lieutenant governor-elect of Texas. He was swept into office in a Republican landslide that saw the party retain all statewide elected offices for the fifth consecutive election.
2018 campaign
On January 9, 2017, the day before the 85th Texas Legislature began its session, Patrick announced he would run for re-election in 2018. He stated his early announcement was in order to dispel rumors that he would challenge Governor Greg Abbott or U.S. Senator Ted Cruz. Patrick easily won the Republican primary on March 6, 2018, defeating Rockwall City Council Member Scott Milder.
In addition to his own campaign, Patrick was active in endorsing and assisting Republican primary candidates in the Texas Senate, including some challengers to GOP incumbents. Patrick's favored candidates won nearly all the races where Patrick made intraparty endorsements. Later in the year, Patrick donated nearly $175,000 to Texas Senate candidate Pete Flores in a special election; Flores won the election in an upset, increasing Patrick's chances of keeping a three-fifths GOP majority in the Senate after the 2018 elections. Patrick succeeded in maintaining a three-fifths majority in the Senate, though Republican Senator Kel Seliger was considered a possible swing-vote.