AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, weighing in on the scandal that's roiled the Texas House in recent weeks, warned Republicans must resolve the issue or risk losing control of that chamber in 2020.

"We don't have to lose many seats to lose the House to the Democrats, and this could play a part in that," Patrick told radio show host Mark Davis on Monday morning. Patrick called for "transparency" from everyone involved, adding, "The sooner it's behind us, however it turns out, is the better."

Democrats would need to win just nine seats to reclaim control over the Texas House for the first time since 2003.

Late last month, conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan alleged that Speaker Dennis Bonnen had a private meeting with him in June at which Bonnen and House GOP Caucus Chairman Dustin Burrows asked Sullivan to target fellow Republicans in next year's primary election. Sullivan claims Bonnen also offered his organization Texas House media credentials, which they had previously been denied.

Bonnen, who denied the claims but later apologized for his rhetoric, has called for the public release of audio recordings Sullivan said he made of the meeting.

On Monday, Patrick reiterated these calls, saying, "[Bonnen] asked for it to be released. I think it's fair. ... Let the public hear it. That's my sense of it. Transparency is important in these things."

On Friday, Burrows resigned as caucus chairman. But Patrick, who presides over the Republican-controlled Senate, would not weigh in on Bonnen's political future.

"I really think that everyone needs to hear the tape and make that decision," Patrick said. "And let it fall where it does. If it exonerates him and the members say, 'We're fine to move on,' then they move on. If it doesn't and they go in a different direction, then that's their choice."

Patrick said he has not heard the audio recording of the meeting. Sullivan has made it available to Republican elected officials and conservative activists, but has repeatedly denied requests for members of the media to hear it. Patrick has received $882,000 since 2012 from Sullivan's group Empower Texans and its political action committee, more than any other elected official in the state.

During a town hall he hosted last week, Gov. Greg Abbott also called on a swift resolution to the scandal. But he dismissed calls for Bonnen's resignation as "premature."

"We need to get to the bottom of this, and we need to get to the bottom of this quickly," Abbott said. "I don't know any of the facts that happened. ... I do know this, he was a good partner in helping to make this a very successful session."

The Texas Rangers Public Integrity Unit has opened an investigation into the meeting.