Republican Tarrant County judge endorses Democrat Mike Collier for lieutenant governor

Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley, a Republican, on Sunday threw his support behind Democrat Mike Collier in the race for Texas lieutenant governor — a rare example of an across-the-aisle endorsement in today’s starkly divided political climate.

Whitley’s support for Collier, who will face incumbent Dan Patrick on Nov. 8, is a win for Democrats, who hope the endorsement represents a bellwether for other statewide races. Tarrant County is a historically red county that has been slowly turning purple in the most recent election cycles.

While announcing his endorsement for Collier to WFAA-TV (Channel 8), Whitley conceded the decision could get him in “a little in trouble,” but added that Collier is “someone who understands local control, and that’s what I’m looking for.”

He also pointed toward Collier’s experience in the oil industry and praised him for being “a bean counter like me.”

Collier said in a statement he was “honored and proud” to receive Whitley’s endorsement.

“We may be of different parties but we both care deeply about the people of Texas,” Collier said. “And as Lt. Governor, I will be a partner with our cities and counties so that we can build a state where our children can have dreams as big as Texas.”

Whitley, who will retire from his position on Dec. 31, previously denounced political polarization and extremism in the state GOP in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News.

“America isn’t broken and neither are its people, but it’s time for the political parties to get out of the way so that our best and brightest can move forward to tackle real challenges and lead us into tomorrow,” he wrote in the op-ed last month.