vocal opponent of illegal immigration. He was also known as a populist. Patrick's talk radio career was instrumental to his political rise, including his election and influence in the State Senate and his eventual election as lieutenant governor. One notable decision Patrick made as the owner of a talk radio station was to sign relative unknown Rush Limbaugh for airing on KSEV in 1989 via radio syndication. Limbaugh's success as a national talk show host helped increase ratings of Patrick's radio station. In addition to radio, Patrick anchored The Patrick Report, a half-hour news program which aired on Houston television station KTBU during 2001. Patrick was also general manager of KTBU. By February 2006, Patrick already owned one radio station. In 2006, Patrick signed a deal to purchase radio station KMGS AM 1160 in Highland Park, Texas (now KBDT). By 2013, Patrick was the majority owner of two radio stations, in Houston and Dallas radio markets. Patrick continued broadcasting after his election as a State Senator, and he continued to own KSEV after his election as lieutenant governor. Other In November 2008, Patrick began work to produce The Heart of Texas, a movie based on a real-life story of two families in Simonton, a small Houston-area city. The movie was released the next year on DVD. Patrick proposed a boycott of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect over controversial statements made by the comedian following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Patrick is also frequently at odds with the Houston Chronicle and announced a boycott of that newspaper in April 2004. He owned a blog called Chronically Biased, which criticized the newspaper. Early political career Patrick first considered running for the United States House of Representatives in 2004. Texas Senate Patrick was first elected to Texas State Senate's seventh district in 2006, winning the primary election with 68.8% of the vote and the general election with 69.2% of the vote. His term began on January 9, 2007 with the convening of the Eightieth Texas Legislature. In the 2010 general election, Patrick was reelected with 86.4% of the vote. He also endorsed Rick Perry for re-election in the 2010 election. Soon after winning re-election, Patrick announced, and subsequently created, a Tea Party Caucus in the Texas state legislature, which at its creation had 48 legislative members. Patrick obtained passage of three Senate bills during his first session. In the Senate, Patrick actively advocated