Dan Patrick: Texas Lieutenant Governor.

• Author: Frazzini, Kevin
• Position: THE FINAL WORD - Interview

Dan Patrick (R) was elected to the Texas Senate in 2006 and became lieutenant governor in 2014, but he first made a name for himself on the airwaves as the host of a conservative talk radio show. Patrick is the author of a Christian best-seller and producer of the film "The Heart of Texas," voted the best movie made in Texas in 2009.

How did you get into radio?

I still have my ninth-grade project on careers, when I said I wanted to be a disc jockey and a television reporter. I worked my way through college as a disc jockey on a country music station before country was cool. Later I moved to Houston, retired from television, went into private business and then bought a radio station in 1988. This was in the mid-'80s when Houston went bust. I loved this little old station, and a guy named Rush Limbaugh called one day. I can detect a good, conservative voice when I hear it, so I put Rush on the radio in '88. We were one of the first big cities that put him on the air and I still have that radio station today. Rush really helped us grow from a little station that was in bankruptcy to a successful radio station.

Has talk radio helped shape policy?

Oh, it's had a dramatic impact. Before Rush, the talk hosts seldom talked about politics or God, or anything that was controversial. Rush smashed that mold. A lot of people, particularly conservative Republicans, heard a guy who was suddenly saying what they were thinking. And so many people got engaged in the political process. That grew 20 years later into the tea party movement. Today, voters are more sophisticated, more informed, more independent than they've ever been on the Republican side. And that's a good thing. The more people know about government, the better government we have.

How did your radio experience help in getting elected?

Doing political talk radio for 15 years before I ran for office, I knew what was on the minds of the people because they called every day. So when I ran for office, I had a closer relationship with the people--understanding what they wanted us to accomplish--than those who were in office and who were running against me.

How would you describe a good leader?

Keep your campaign promises and keep your word, and never compromise on your principles. Learn to work with others by--sometimes it takes some time--convincing them that voting on a particular issue is what their constituents want as much as your constituents. I learned early on to go out of my way to help...