Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Mike Collier speaks during a campaign stop in Longview, on Wednesday September 28, 2022, at Heritage Plaza. (Michael Cavazos/News-Journal Photo)

Democrat Mike Collier made stops in East Texas on Wednesday, including in Tyler and in Longview.

Collier shared his views on education, the power grid, property taxes and border security Wednesday with a crowd of about 35 people during a campaign stop at Heritage Plaza in Longview, and also at The Foundry coffee shop in downtown Tyler.

Collier is facing incumbent Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the November election. Collier previously faced Patrick in 2018, losing by 5 percentage points.

“I made the decision to run against Dan Patrick a second time because we came so close in 2018, and particularly we did really really well in East and West Texas,” Collier said Wednesday. “In all of the counties that are dominated by Republican politics, I got the most votes. That’s because people crossed over for me because they don’t like the job that Dan Patrick is doing.”

Collier criticized the way Patrick has responded to issues with the power grid, property taxes and border security.

He also criticized the state’s educational system, saying there should be small class sizes, increased pay for teachers and a more stable teacher retirement system, among other issues.

“The main thing I want to impress upon you this morning in my remarks is when you think about the ways the state affects people in their lives and what Democrats stand for, you find out pretty quickly that what we stand for is what Texans stand for,” he said. “We are not the fringe party. We are not ideological zealots.

“We are the ones that want, for example, great public schools. We want great public schools because that’s where the students are, and we have a moral obligation to all of our young people — not just the sons and daughters of the affluent — but all of our young people to get a great education so they can be good productive citizens.”

Patrickmade a campaign stop Monday in Marshall.

Early voting is set Oct. 24 to Nov. 4, and Election Day is Nov. 8.