Texas state senator Dan Patrick is thinking about joining the crowded GOP field in the Texas Senate primary. And it may all stem from a dispute Patrick had with Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, another Senate candidate, over the TSA’s touching policy:

Patrick’s Tuesday run-in with Dewhurst came when he accused the lieutenant governor, the presiding officer of the Senate, of undercutting his effort to pass a bill that would have made it a crime for Transportation Security Administration officers to touch anyone’s private areas during safety screenings.

Federal officials told Dewhurst and other state officials that Patrick’s legislation would conflict with federal law and that the federal government would ask the courts to prevent the measures from being enforced if they passed.

Patrick said that, as he laid out his bill on the Senate floor, he thought Dewhurst was moving from senator to senator in an effort to “peel off votes.” When the Houston lawmaker realized he did not have the votes, he withdrew the bill and fired a few parting shots at Dewhurst.

“Someone who will not stand up to the federal government, you have to ask yourself, is that the kind of person we need in the U.S. Senate?” Patrick said.

Former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann might say nice things about him, just because he’s thinking of the other Dan Patrick.