Texas Republicans are moving quickly to pass their economic and social priorities through the Legislature, but the party is far from unified, and the best example of GOP factions is the uneasy relationship between Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, pictured.

Gov. Greg Abbott addresses the Senate at the Capitol on the first day of the 89th Legislative Session Jan. 14, 2025.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Gov. Greg Abbott and Rep. Dustin Burrows.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick presides over the Senate at the Capitol on the first day of the 89th Legislative Session, Jan. 14.

Texas Republicans are moving quickly to pass their economic and social priorities through the Legislature, but the party is far from unified, and the best example of GOP factions is the uneasy relationship between Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Because they run for office separately, neither feels obligated to the other.

Abbott is a native Texan and career politician who worked his way into the governor’s office through prodigious fundraising as a state judge, Texas Supreme Court justice and attorney general. Insiders describe him as traditional and transactional, enjoying the give and take of political dealmaking.

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His right-wing critics complain that Abbott is frequently vague about his goals and changes direction with the political winds. If he can avoid taking a hard and fast position, he will keep his options open. He has a chameleon-like quality that lets people see what they want to see in him.

Patrick was born Dannie Goeb in Baltimore and, in the late 1970s, came to Texas as a sportscaster with KHOU-TV. He drove ratings with a bombastic on-air........

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