Nate Sheets
Nate Sheets (Republican Party) is running for election for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture. He is on the ballot in the Republican primary on March 3, 2026.[source]
Sheets completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Nate Sheets' career experience includes working as a businessman. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 1988 to 1994. Sheets graduated from Jack C. Hays High School. He earned a B.A. in marketing from Texas State University.[1]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3 Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Incumbent Sid Miller (R) and Nate Sheets (R) are running in the Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on March 3, 2026.
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) endorsed Sheets in January 2026. The Texas Tribune's Kate McGee said the endorsement was "an exceptionally rare rebuke of a fellow Republican official and Trump ally by Abbott, who has mostly stayed out of statewide elected races."[2] Writing in the Austin American-Statesman, John Moritz said Miller was "among conservatives who sued Abbott for extending early voting periods during the COVID crisis in 2020, and he briefly considered challenging the governor in the 2022 GOP primary."[3]
In his endorsement, Abbott said, "Texans deserve an Agriculture Commissioner who is focused on promoting Texas Agriculture, with zero tolerance for criminality," referencing Miller's hiring of Todd Smith as chief of staff in 2025.[4] In 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to one charge of commercial bribery stemming from allegations he had solicited bribes from individuals in exchange for priority consideration of applications for hemp licenses.[5] In an interview with CBS News Texas, Miller said, "What happened to Todd Smith has happened to numerous Republicans. Keep in mind, this is Travis County, the most liberal DA's office probably in the nation...they came after Todd Smith for this very purpose to get headlines for the election, so they could defeat me."[6] As of February 20, 2026, President Donald Trump (R) had not endorsed either Miller or Sheets. Trump endorsed Miller in 2018 and 2022.
Miller was first elected agriculture commissioner in 2014 and earlier served 12 years in the Texas House of Representatives. Miller is a rancher who breeds quarter horses.[7] Miller is running on his record, saying he had "turned deficits into surpluses, crises into comebacks, and opened doors worldwide. But there’s more to do, like fighting federal overreach on endangered species, promoting vocational ag education, and ensuring our water and land stay in Texas hands."[8] As of February 2026, Texas Right to Life and 10 members of the U.S. House had endorsed Miller.[9]
Sheets is a businessman and the founder of Nature Nate's honey.[10] Sheets says he is "a producer, a businessman, and a father who believes Texas needs new leadership rooted in real-world experience and eternal values." Sheets says he is running because he "knows firsthand the challenges that Texas ranchers face — from water access and soil health to labor shortages and government overreach."[11] Gun Owners of America and former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) endorsed Sheets.[12]
In 2022, Miller defeated Susan Hays (D) 56%–44%. The last Democrat to win an agriculture commissioner election in Texas was Jim Hightower (D) in 1986.
Elections
2026
See also: Texas Agriculture Commissioner election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on April 12, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
Clayton Tucker (D) is running in the Democratic primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Clayton Tucker  | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
Incumbent Sid Miller (R) and Nate Sheets (R) are running in the Republican primary for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Sid Miller | |
 | Nate Sheets | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Green Party convention
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Green convention for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
Alfred Molison (G) is running in the Green Party convention for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on April 11, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Alfred Molison | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian Party convention
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Libertarian convention for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
Austin Kelly (L) is running in the Libertarian Party convention for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture on April 12, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Austin Kelly | |
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Election campaign finance
The tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA. Transparency USA tracks loans separately from total contributions. View each candidates’ loan totals, if any, by clicking “View More” in the table below and learn more about this data [1].
Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[13][14][15]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Endorsements
Sheets received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Sheets's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Gun Owners of America
- Texas Alliance For Life
- True Texas Project
- Rick Santorum (R) - Former U.S. Sen.
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Nate Sheets completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Sheets' responses.
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- My first action will be to DOGE the agency. My opponent has run it into the ground. He raisied fees on farmers and ranchers. According to the State Auditor, those hikes brought in $27.3 million when the programs cost only $20.8 million. Miller hired his former political advisor as Chief of Staff of the agency AFTER he pled guilty to felony bribery tied to hemp licenses at TDA.. Key duties, like regulating fuel pumps, were stripped from the agency, and Miller was fined by the Texas Ethics Commission for misusing state and campaign funds. As Agriculture Commissioner, my first act will be to audit the agency, cut waste, end cronyism, and make sure every dollar serves Texas farmers, ranchers, and consumers, not political insiders.
- The GO TEXAN program was meant to help small family farms reach customers, but it has turned into a taxpayer-funded PR tool. My opponent used it to host a music festival. I would strip out the self-promotion and refocus it on real market access. In its place, I would launch a cost-neutral Texas Agriculture Marketplace that connects farmers and ranchers directly to consumers, retailers, and institutional buyers. Producers would opt in voluntarily and pay a small transaction fee.
- We face 2 connected challenges. 1) Agriculture is in serious trouble family farms are disappearing, costs are rising, and producers are earning less. 2) This is happening alongside a major health crisis where 75% of spending is on chronic disease caused by the food we eat and more than 77% of young Americans are disqualified from military service. Texas already spends billions on food for schools, hospitals, and state agencies, much of it flowing to multinational corporations for ultra-processed foods. I will work to redirect existing food dollars toward Texas-grown meat, fruits, & vegetables through smarter procurement. That predictable demand helps family operations stay on the land, creates rural jobs, & keeps food dollars in Texas.
2) MAHA the School lunch program: Prioritize Texas grown produce / meat instead of propping up woke ultra-processed food companies with Texas tax dollars.
3) Stop foreign ownership of farm land: We don't need our enemies in hostile foreign nations controlling the food supply
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign website
Sheets' campaign website stated the following:
Texas-First Trade
President Donald Trump has made America First Trade the center of his international agenda. Like President Trump, as the next Agriculture Commissioner, Nate Sheets will be a tenacious ambassador for Texas First Trade that helps create jobs for American citizens, increasing the bottom line for our farmers, ranchers, and producers, and ensures the security of our food supply.
Nate Sheets has produced agricultural products and delivered them to market, and he understands the importance of American, and Texan, dominance in feeding this critical space to our national security. As Agriculture Commissioner, Nate will fight every day for the hardworking people that create the food this nation, and the world, runs on.
Producing the Cleanest Food for Texas Families
America is experiencing a national awakening—MAHA—in regards to how our food is grown and the effects of what we put into our bodies on our health. Texas has the most robust agricultural economy in the nation: what grows in Texas feeds the nation. Nate’s experience in agriculture has proven that it is possible to produce cleaner food products while increasing what farmers and ranchers take home for their labor.
Nate Sheets will lead on helping our state’s producers grow the cleanest food possible while growing their bottom line. When elected Agriculture Commissioner, Nate Sheets will be the best partner in the history of Texas to our producers, helping them grow better food and grow food better.
Border Security Starts with Labor Security
President Donald Trump has changed the course of our nation with his no-nonsense, unapologetic approach to securing our border and deporting illegal immigrants. One of the primary drivers of illegal immigration is economic and possibly nowhere is that more important to address than in agriculture.
As Agriculture Commissioner, Nate Sheets will enthusiastically support the Trump Administration in its efforts to secure our border and stop the flow of illegal immigrants into our state and nation. Nate supports requiring federal e-Verify for all legal employment in Texas and will vigorously advocate for passing state legislature to ensure that anyone who works in Texas has had their citizenship verified, ending the economic magnet once and for all.
Rural Economic Development
Rural Texas is the backbone of Texas agriculture. As Agriculture Commissioner, Nate Sheets will work to bring new jobs and opportunities to rural Texas that refine or process our agricultural goods into finished products. For too long, these critical jobs in the food supply chain have vanished from rural Texas and the very Texans whose families and neighbors grow or raise our food.
Nate will work to bring those opportunities back to rural Texas, slashing transportation costs for farmers and generating employment opportunities for countless families in the heartland of our state.
Combatting Agro-Terrorism by Foreign States
Many Texans do not know but foreign adversaries such as China are sending nationals into our country with pathogens designed to wipe out large swaths of Texas, and American, agriculture. In recent months, two Chinese were arrest smuggling in a fungus that could devastate our wheat, barley, maize, and rice crops.
Nate Sheets will take on agroterrorism by hostile nations like China, working to pass strong state laws with the Texas Legislature to ensure that Texas has the investigatory and prosecution powers needed to identify and punish these terrorists.
Nate will ensure that Texas’s Department of Agriculture is working closely with the Trump Administration to eliminate this threat and to protect our farmers and producers and our nation’s food supply.
Cleaning up the Food in Our Kid's Schools
Our government spends an enormous amount of tax dollars on providing lunch to our students. I am a firm believer that how anyone—an individual, family, and even our government—spends money is a window into their priorities, and I believe that providing clean, quality food in our schools must be at the top of list.
There is no better way to teach our kids about where their food comes from, how to eat a balanced diet, and to impact their long-term health than ensuring cleaning up what we serve in our schools. As your next Ag Commissioner, I will work with our legislature and Texas farmers and producers to ensure that we’re fueling our kids’ bodies and developing brains with the cleanest food possible.
Champion Our 2nd Amendment
The 2nd Amendment is not about hunting and fishing—it’s about personal defense and protection of family and property. Nate Sheets will use the power of the Department of Agriculture to promote and champion our 2nd Amendment rights wherever possible, ensuring that state power under his purview never infringes on our God-given right to keep and bear arms.
The Foundational Right to Life
Nate Sheets is an unapologetic Christian who believes that every baby is created in the Image of God and has an inalienable right to life. Nate Sheets will be the most Pro-Life and Pro-Family Agriculture Commissioner in the history of Texas, using his position and office in whatever way possible to promote healthy babies, adoption opportunities, and economic stability for families.
— Nate Sheets' campaign website (February 4, 2026)
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
Campaign finance summary
Campaign finance information for this candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. That information will be published here once it is available.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Texas Commissioner of Agriculture |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Nate Sheets for Ag Commissioner, "About Nate Sheets," accessed January 16, 2026
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Gov. Abbott endorses Nate Sheets over Sid Miller for agriculture commissioner," January 21, 2026
- ↑ Austin American-Statesman, "Why some Republicans are ready to turn the page on Sid Miller in the 2026 primary," January 28, 2026
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Gov. Abbott endorses Nate Sheets over Sid Miller for agriculture commissioner," January 21, 2026
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "State Ag employees told police they were wary of Sid Miller’s political consultant. Now he’s the agency’s chief of staff." August 25, 2025
- ↑ CBS News, "Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller reacts to Gov. Abbott's endorsement of his challenger: "I wasn't surprised."," February 8, 2026
- ↑ Sid Miller campaign website, "About Sid," accessed February 3, 2026
- ↑ Sid Miller campaign website, "A Record of Success for All Texans," December 9, 2025
- ↑ Sid Miller campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 3, 2026
- ↑ Nate Sheets campaign website, "About Nate Sheets," accessed February 3, 2026
- ↑ Nate Sheets campaign website, "Home page," accessed February 3, 2026
- ↑ Nate Sheets campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed February 3, 2026
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
