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Democrat Vikki Goodwin, a state representative from Austin, defeated incumbent Republican Dan Patrick in the November 3 midterm election to become Texas lieutenant governor, according to Associated Press projections. KUT reported she is the first woman elected to the office, and the first Democrat to take it from Republicans since Rick Perry defeated John Sharp in 1998. She will preside over a Texas Senate that remains under Republican control, reported at 19–12.
Texas Senate Republicans are considering rewriting the Senate's rules to strip the incoming lieutenant governor of the office's legislative powers, according to the Quorum Report, which cited multiple sources. Under the plan described in that reporting, the powers to appoint committee members, refer bills to committees, recognise senators to speak and control the flow of legislation to the Senate floor would be transferred to a majority leader elected by the Republican senators themselves. Such a rules change would require only a simple majority vote.
Those powers are not written into the Texas Constitution. The Texas Tribune has reported that many of the lieutenant governor's expansive powers are granted by state senators themselves, who approve the chamber's rules at the beginning of each legislative session. Goodwin would therefore preside over a Republican-majority body that could restrict her control over committee assignments and the flow of bills to the Senate floor.
The discussion moved from contingency to the day's agenda on November 4 itself, when Braddock reported that Senate Republicans planned to meet that afternoon to discuss reorganising the chamber, with the election of a majority leader and stripping the Democratic lieutenant governor of legislative power on the table, describing the story as developing. No senator had gone on the record about the plan when it was first reported on October 19, close to an election described as too close to call.
Goodwin has pushed back against the prospect. She told the Tribune she thinks of herself as fairly intelligent and will figure out ways to get things done, and she noted that the core powers of the office, including being next in line for the governorship, are in the state Constitution and cannot easily be revoked.
There is precedent for the move being considered: in the 1990s, Republicans weighed a similar stripping of power from Democratic Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock after they gained the Senate majority they have held ever since.
Goodwin's victory came despite a wide spending gap: the Tribune reported, citing AdImpact, that Patrick had spent nearly $14.5 million on advertising by mid-October, against $25,983 for Goodwin. The Senate's rules for the new session will be adopted when lawmakers return, and that vote will determine how much of the lieutenant governor's traditional authority Goodwin actually exercises.