FORT WORTH, Texas —  Republican Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley this weekend disclosed he is backing Democrat Mike Collier over incumbent Republican Dan Patrick in the race for lieutenant governor.

Tarrant County is the third-most populous county in Texas, and its county seat is Fort Worth.

Whitley discussed his endorsement on “Y’all-itics,” a political podcast produced by Dallas-area ABC television affiliate WFAA.

“The one person who I’ll support statewide that will get me a little in trouble: Mike Collier for lieutenant governor,” Whitley said. “Dan Patrick came on the scene in 2006 with Empower Texans, and since that point in time they’ve basically declared war on local elected officials, they blamed local governments for all the property tax problems.”

The Texas Tribune pointed out this weekend that Patrick and Whitley have clashed repeatedly.

Patrick responded to Whitley’s endorsement of Collier on Twitter, blaming him for high property taxes in Tarrant County.

“It’s no surprise @Judge_Whitley, who made @TarrantCountyTX property taxes among the highest in TX, doesn’t get it,” Patrick wrote. “People are being taxed out of their homes by big spending local governments. Collier & Whitley are two-of-a-kind, tax hiking, big spenders.”

In 2018, Collier came within 5 percentage points of beating Patrick. Collier said that he believes he only lost last time because he ran out of time and money.

An August poll conducted by the Dallas Morning News and the University of Texas at Tyler showed Patrick polling 8 points ahead of Collier.

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 8.