FULL: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speech at the 2026 RNC Midterm Convention

Please welcome to the stage, Lieutenant Governor of the great state of Texas, Dan Patrick. Hello, Texas. In the southern part of Texas, in the town of San Antone, there's a fortress all in ruin, but the weeds have overgrown. You may look in vain for crosses, but you'll never find a one. But sometimes, between the setting and the rising of the sun, you will hear a ghostly bugle as the men go marching by, as they answer to that Texas roll call in the sky. Colonel Travis and Davy Crockett and 180 more, Captain Dickinson and Jim Bowie, present and accounted for. We Texans and those who have gotten here as fast as they could, we all believe that we have that DNA in us. And for those visiting, we're proud to have you in Texas. And I promise you, when you get home, you'll find some of that DNA of Bowie and Travis and Davy Crockett rubbed off on you. It's a Texas thing. But what is that DNA? What is that flag? They're connected, because that flag does not stand for communism or socialism. It stands for God and country and freedom and family, the life of the unborn, the Second Amendment. That flag, that flag is you. That's who we are. That's who we've always been. Make no mistake, this election coming up is not about politics. It's about darkness and it's about light. It's about those of us who love God and those who want to kick God out of our country, because that's what the Democrats want to do. It's the very definition of communism, because it's a godless government. Make no mistake, Democrat communists and socialists are coming after everything you have and everything you and your family will ever have. In the last two decades, 12 million people have moved to Texas, mostly fleeing blue states and their failed and deadly policies. Our conservative values have made Texas the strongest economy on the planet, while American patriots were fleeing blue state failures. Our pro-business, pro-tax policies in Texas are attracting billions of dollars in investment. Low taxes and no income tax will always do that. It's reassured manufacturing. It's achieved record job creation in the country. Meanwhile, the Democrats want us to look like California or Russia or China. If you think this is an exaggeration, remember this. When people tell you who they are, when they tell you and show you who they are, believe them, because that's who they are. Liberal Democrats run on higher taxes, smaller paychecks, and open borders. That is how they will govern. As President Trump last night said, the radical Democrat-Communist movement in this country, it's real and it's the most danger our country has ever faced. When you vote in November, you aren't voting really for a candidate. You're voting for you. You're voting for your family. You're voting for that flag. Imagine the people that were just here on this stage, how much they loved that flag and what it was like when they saw it again for the first time after captivity. As Johnny Cash wrote, Washington took that flag across the Delaware. And yes, over time, she's been burned. She's been dishonored. She's been denied and she's been refused, but she's in good shape for the shape she's in. She's been through the fire before. In November, again, you're voting for the flag and you're voting for yourself and your family. Would you all rise and please stand with me now to honor this flag and to send a clear message to the Democrats, to the Communists, to the Socialists, you started a fight and the Republicans are going to finish it in November. What are we going to do? We're going to finish it in November. We will end Communism. We will end Socialism. And we will put the Democratic Party and James Tallarico and his life on the dust heap of history. USA! In Texas, we have the saying, we have to get it right because there's not another Texas to move to. In November, we have to get it right because there's not another America to move to. In Texas, when we say God bless you, we mean it. God bless you and your families. Believe this great state. God bless this country. And God bless the greatest president in the history of this nation, Donald J. Trump. Thank you. God bless you.