Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick rules the Texas Senate. Now he seeks influence in the House

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wields vast power in the Texas Senate with a warm smile and a grandfatherly wit that belies the quietly relentless nature behind each gavel strike. Since taking office in 2015, the three-term, 74-year-old lieutenant governor has remade the Senate in his image, allowing his conservative agenda to fly through with little resistance. Patrick’s reign over the Senate puts him among the most powerful and successful policymakers in the history of Texas, but he isn’t stopping there. Breaking an unwritten rule against meddling in the...