(credit: Jerry Patterson)

AUSTIN (AP) - Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson says he’ll run for lieutenant governor in 2014.

Patterson, a Republican, is a former state legislator who has led the Texas General Land Office since 2002.

Patterson previously announced in 2011 he would run for lieutenant governor in 2014, but that was when Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst was considered the frontrunner for a U.S. Senate seat.

Dewhurst’s loss to Ted Cruz in Tuesday night’s Republican primary keeps him in the statewide office for another two years.

Patterson said he likes Dewhurst but will be running for the office he says has the biggest impact on the state. The Texas lieutenant governor presides over the state Senate and wields considerable influence over state policy.

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