March 21, 2014 1:47 PM

DEWHURST AND PATRICK TAKE THE GLOVES OFF IN THE HILL COUNTRY

Perhaps the first time Dewhurst has matched Patrick for aggressiveness

KERRVILLE – In this Hill Country county won by Sen. Dan Patrick on Election Day, both he and Lt. Gov David Dewhurst came out swinging at each other in a blistering half-hour debate. The forum for runoff candidates, hosted by the Republican Women of Kerr County, focused on protecting rural Texas from urban Texas almost as much as protecting the entire state from the effects of illegal immigration.

The questions were all submitted by members of the audience who wanted to know, for example, what each of the combatants would do to make sure rural areas will get their fair share of funding for water projects following the passage of Prop 6. They also wanted to know whether both men would support desalination of water from the Gulf of Mexico.

While Dewhurst demonstrated a depth of knowledge on water – often apologizing for throwing lots of numbers at the crowd – Patrick focused on the conservative message that the private sector should take the lead as much as possible. "Nothing matters if you don't have water," Patrick said, noting that economic growth is dependent on investment in infrastructure. “Not only will our rivers dry up but so will our jobs." Patrick also said anyone running for office who tries to pass themselves off as an expert on every issue is trying to fool voters.

Both the incumbent and the man who’s claimed the Tea Party mantle so far in the election received about the same amount of applause and enthusiasm from the crowd. But, despite Patrick’s positioning as a “Christian first,” it was Dewhurst who got an “amen” or two when he talked about sending President Obama an invoice for Texas border security. On driver licenses for the undocumented, Dewhurst said he understands the arguments in favor of the proposal but “the answer is no.” Patrick agreed.

By Scott Braddock