SAN ANTONIO — State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a San Antonio Democrat, is unequivocally the best candidate in the race for lieutenant governor.

Republican nominee Dan Patrick’s vision for the state is simply too harsh, his rhetoric even harsher and his policy prescriptions a bad fit for a Texas that is changing in substantive ways.

To adequately address the state’s evolving landscape, Texas government must change how it meets the formidable challenges ahead.

Van de Putte’s record and campaign speak to concern about real things. Moreover, she is known for the kind of comity that it will take to solve the state’s problems — together.

Patrick, also a state senator, is nearly exactly the opposite. A shock jock on radio in Houston, his approach to broadcasting has seemed to be his modus operandi as a senator and as a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Van de Putte is liked and respected on both sides of the aisle. Patrick is not. He is a divider, not a uniter.

The Texas of the future will need all the uniting it can muster.

Both as a senator and a campaigner, Patrick has mined wedge issues to appeal to Texans’ fears, not their hopes. And it is almost as if Patrick has glommed on to this perception of him. He has not been as visible on the general election campaign trail. But lack of exposure doesn’t mean he’s changed his views.

This is in contrast to a highly visible primary campaign in which all the GOP candidates engaged in an inane game of who’s the real conservative — one-upmanship that got scarier with each salvo.

And Patrick won, both in the number of votes among the GOP base and in this scary game of one-upmanship. There is no other way to say it; Patrick as lieutenant governor is a frightful prospect.

On virtually every issue, he is simply wrong. More important, Van de Putte is right — on education funding, women’s issues, health care for all Texans, building the state’s infrastructure, veterans and border security.

As president of the senate, the lieutenant governor can set an agenda that unites Texas and positions it for the 21st century and beyond. Or this person can use the position as a platform for worn ideas, divisive culture war and self-promotion.

Our fear is that the latter would describe a Patrick lieutenant governorship.

Forget party labels in this race. Van de Putte will best help move the state forward.