There's a new candidate for Texas Lieutenant Governor.
Democrat Mike Collier officially announced his bid for the position in Round Rock Saturday afternoon.
A large crowd of supporters came to the Sharon Prete Main Street Plaza to hear his plan to take on Dan Patrick in 2018. He told the crowd they need a lieutenant governor that will bring Texas together, not apart.
He criticized Patrick on his priorities this legislative session, like the so-called bathroom bill. He says if he wins the race, he'll focus on fixing Texas' economy and school funding.
"We're very different in terms of public education," Collier said. "I'm pro-public education. I'm pro-teacher and retired teacher and he's not. We have very different points of view in terms of tax policy. I attribute high property taxes to republican fiscal policies. I'll show that on the campaign trail.
"When you look at what he stands for you'll see that he's trying to do good for everyone not just for certain interest groups," supporter Sharon Covey said.
Collier, a long time accountant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Houston area, was the Democratic nominee for comptroller in 2014. He lost to Glen Hegar. Saturday, he said his experience running in a statewide race will help him in this election cycle.