I didn’t make the list of the Texas Tribune insiders, but I’m going to try to have my say about the survey on the lieutenant governor’s race nonetheless. First, I think Dewhurst’s 11 percent is too low. There are enough mainstream conservatives left in the Republican party that he should rank higher than that, but there’s no doubt this is an uphill race for him. I think Patrick is rated too highly at 26 percent. He’s going to have a hard time winning votes outside of the Harris County metro area. I think Staples does have the overall edge because he has a constituency (rural Texans and Republicans who are anti-immigrant), though Patterson has loyal constiuencies of his own (gun owners and veterans). I think one of those two men will be the state’s next lieutenant governor.