David Dewhurst

Who is David Dewhurst?

David Henry Dewhurst is the 41st and current Lieutenant Governor of Texas, serving since January 21, 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the Texas Land Commissioner from 1999 to 2003. Dewhurst was a candidate in 2012 for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retiring Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison, but he lost his party's runoff election to former Solicitor General Ted Cruz, who went on to win the general election as well.

Dewhurst is a candidate for an unprecedented fourth four-year term in the Republican runoff election scheduled for May 27, 2014. He will face his intraparty rival and fellow Houstonian State Senator Dan Patrick who led the primary balloting with 550,769 votes. Dewhurst trailed with 376,196 votes. Eliminated in the primary were Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Todd Staples with 235,981 votes and Texas Land commissioner Jerry E. Patterson with 165,787. Patterson had succeeded Dewhurst as land commissioner in 2002 when Dewhurst was then first elected as lieutenant governor.