In a stunning blow to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed Miller’s Republican primary challenger for agriculture commissioner, putting his support behind first-time political candidate Nate Sheets.
“Texans deserve an Agriculture Commissioner who is focused on promoting Texas Agriculture, with zero tolerance for criminality,” Abbott wrote Wednesday on social media. “Nate Sheets is the true conservative champion for the job and is the leader we need to keep Texas the global powerhouse in agriculture.”
Last year, Miller turned heads when he hired his political consultant Todd Smith as the agency’s chief of staff just a few months after Smith pleaded guilty to commercial bribery after he was criminally charged for selling hemp licenses that are regulated by Miller’s office. The move sparked outrage among agency employees who told Texas Rangers they had warned Miller about Smith.
Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Sheets said: “I’m honored to have Governor Abbott’s support and I look forward to working together to fight for Texas agriculture and for farmers’ and ranchers’ future economic success, restore trust in our food system, and ensure Texas remains strong, healthy, and secure for generations to come.”
Sheets is the founder of Nature Nate’s Honey company. A native Texan business and ranch owner, he served for six years in the U.S. Naval Reserve before graduating from Texas State University. Sheets sold Nature Nate’s in 2021 and resigned as CEO in 2024 to run for agriculture commissioner. He also previously worked as communications director for E3 Partners, an evangelist ministry that establishes new Christian congregations around the world.
In a statement, Kim Snyder, Abbott’s campaign manager, said Abbott endorsed Sheets because of Miller’s “history of corruption” and pointed to his vote in favor of in-state tuition for undocumented students when Miller served in the Texas House. At the time, the measure had broad bipartisan support, but as the Republican Party has shifted further to the right, it has become a political sticking point among hardline anti-immigrant politicians.
“Nate Sheets is the only candidate in the race who has the integrity to lead the Texas Department of Agriculture,” Snyder added.
First elected agriculture commissioner in 2014, Miller came under fire in 2016 for using state funds to travel to Oklahoma to receive what he called a “Jesus shot,” an injection that an Oklahoma City doctor claimed could take away all pain for life.
Miller later reimbursed the state for the trip, and Travis County prosecutors did not pursue charges.
In 2017, the Texas Ethics Commission fined Miller $2,750 for sloppy campaign accounting. The next year, the commission fined Miller $500 for using state funds to travel to a rodeo in Mississippi after an investigation found the primary purpose of the trip to Jackson was personal.
Miller toyed with challenging Abbott in the 2022 Republican primary before running for reelection for agriculture commissioner. Miller was one of several Republican leaders who sued Abbott after he extended the early voting period during the 2020 pandemic.
Earlier this week, Miller criticized Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick at a Wood County forum where he said “there is nobody that understands rural Texas anymore,” according to audio obtained by The Texas Bullpen. “Our governor, for 10 years I’ve been trying to get him on the farm. Hadn’t got him there yet. Our lieutenant governor is from New England. He’d have never been on a farm that I know of,” Miller said.
Patrick is from Maryland.
Sheets already has endorsements from multiple Republican state senators, including Sens. Charles Perry of Lubbock, Angela Paxton of McKinney and Kevin Sparks of Midland.
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