Former Land Commissioner Patterson Endorses Dawn Buckingham for His Old Job

AUSTIN, TX – Former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced his endorsement Saturday of Senator Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) in the Republican runoff for Texas Land Commissioner. Buckingham garnered a strong 41.8% of the vote in the crowded, eight-way Republican Primary and faces Tim Westley in the runoff election on May 24.

“An important duty of the Texas Land Commissioner is to protect the Permanent School Fund from politicians seeking to use it for something other than education,” said Patterson. “Legislative experience is critical to protecting the PSF and Senator Buckingham has that experience. I also know Dawn will defend the legacy of those Texians and Tejanos who died at the Alamo from the woke, “re-imagine”, narrative of the left.”

Jerry Patterson served as Texas Land Commissioner from 2003 to 2015. During his tenure at the General Land Office, Patterson oversaw the handover of the Alamo from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to the GLO, which manages the historical site to this day. A noted authority on Texas history, Patterson was recently appointed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to serve on the nine-member 1836 Project Advisory Committee, which seeks to promote education about the history of Texas.

A retired Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Marines, Patterson volunteered to serve in Vietnam and saw combat as a Marine fighter pilot. Patterson also served for six years in the Texas State Senate, where he represented the Houston-based 11thSenatorial District and passed the state’s first concealed carry law.

“Jerry Patterson has devoted his life to service…first, as an officer in the Marines, then in the Texas Senate, and finally as Texas Land Commissioner,” said Buckingham. “Nobody cares more about telling the story of Texas and honoring the historical contributions of the Texans who made that story possible. It’s a true honor to have Jerry’s support in this campaign and I hope he’ll continue to offer his advice and council if I’m fortunate enough to serve the people of Texas as our next Land Commissioner.”

Dr. Dawn Buckingham is an experienced oculoplastic surgeon, an avid hunter, a seventh-generation Texan, and a lifelong conservative Republican. In 2016, Buckingham was elected to represent District 24 in the Texas Senate, a 17-county region of West Texas and the Texas Hill Country. Dawn and her husband Ed (also a surgeon) have two children in college and reside in Lakeway, Texas.