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Don Huffines
Huffines in 2021
40th Comptroller of Texas
Incumbent
Assumed office
August 1, 2026
GovernorGreg Abbott
Preceded byKelly Hancock (acting)
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 16th district
In office
January 13, 2015 – January 8, 2019
Preceded byJohn Carona
Succeeded byNathan M. Johnson
Personal details
BornDonald Blaine Huffines
(1958-04-26) April 26, 1958 (age 68)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
PartyRepublican
SpouseMary Huffines
Children5
EducationUniversity of Texas, Austin (BBA)
WebsiteOffice website
Campaign website

Donald Blaine Huffines (born April 26, 1958) is an American politician and businessman serving as the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts since 2026. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Texas Senate from 2015 to 2019.[1][2]

Huffines ran for governor of Texas in the 2022 Republican primary, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Greg Abbott, following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns.[3]

On March 7, 2025, Huffines announced his candidacy for Texas comptroller.[4] He won the Republican primary for the office on March 3, 2026, defeating the incumbent Kelly Hancock.[5] Not long after losing the primary, Hancock announced that he would resign[6] and on July 2, 2026, Abbott announced that he would be appointing Huffines to serve out the remainder of the term.[7]

Early life and education

[edit]

Don Huffines is a fifth-generation Texan, born in Dallas on April 26, 1958. He has two older brothers, James and Ray, and an identical twin brother, Phillip. In his childhood, he and his brothers helped out at their grandfather's car dealership. Don Huffines' grandfather, James Lecil "J.L." Huffines, started the Huffines Motor Company in Denton, Texas, in 1924. The company has since grown into a large network of metroplex dealerships run by Don's brother, Ray Huffines.

Huffines graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance.[1]

Real-estate career

[edit]

Huffines and his twin brother Phillip are the co-founders and current owners of Huffines Communities, a Dallas/Fort Worth real-estate company they established in 1985.[8][1] Huffines is also the president and founder of Huffines Enterprises.[9]

In 2022, he founded the Huffines Liberty Foundation, a Texas think-tank proposing fiscally conservative public policies.[10] Huffines has published numerous op-eds with the Foundation in the Houston Chronicle and Dallas Morning News about property taxes.

State politics

[edit]

Texas Senate

[edit]
Huffines in 2014

In 2014, Huffines ran for a seat in the Texas State Senate. He challenged the incumbent of district 16, Senator John J. Carona, in the Republican primary. Huffines' campaign claimed that Carona was not a true conservative; Huffines ultimately won the primary against Carona on March 4, 2014. A combined total of $6.3 million was spent by both candidates in the primary race.[citation needed]

In the November 4 general election, Huffines ran unopposed.[11] Huffines campaigned on the themes of term limits, school choice, funding highway construction, opposing new toll roads, cutting taxes, and teaching creationism in public schools.[12]

Tenure

[edit]

During his time in office, Huffines authored many bills addressing Republican priorities[13] and consistently voted along his party line on conservative legislation.

A Rice University Baker Institute study by political science fellow Mark Jones named Huffines the fourth-most conservative member of the 2017 Texas Senate.[14] He scored 97% on the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Index the same year.[15] Huffines received a 92% career rating from Young Conservatives of Texas.[16] Huffines was also recognized as a "Faith & Family" champion by Texas Values Action, with a score of 98%.[17]

Huffines served as vice-chair of the Texas Senate Border Security, Veteran Affairs, and Transportation committees. He also served as a member of the Education, Business & Commerce, Intergovernmental Regulations, and Natural Resources & Economic Development committees.[11]

In 2017, Huffines got a bipartisan bill to end Texas state vehicle inspections approved in the Texas Senate. In passing the legislation, Huffines was joined by his Republican colleagues and seven Democrats. The Texas Tribune claimed that if Huffines' bill were to become law, it would eliminate the state's vehicle safety inspection requirement for most vehicles and save about $140 million per year statewide.[18][19] The bill then failed in the Texas House, without a vote on the floor. A similar bill passed in 2023, 4 years after he left office.

Huffines also proposed a bill in 2017 that would have required 30% voter turnout for any bond approval vote in Texas to be successful. At the time, most of these elections drew fewer than 10% of voters to the polls.[citation needed][20]

Huffines is also known for advocating the elimination of those Dallas County Schools that mismanaged taxpayer money.[21] Six people were imprisoned after being exposed for their roles in a multi-million dollar scam, with assistance by the FBI.[21][22]

On November 6, 2018, Huffines lost his re-election bid to Democrat Nathan M. Johnson, who was the first Democrat to win Senate District 16 in over three decades. Huffines received 45.9% of the vote.[23]

2022 gubernatorial campaign

[edit]

Huffines remained politically active after losing his Senate re-election campaign. In July 2021, he was openly critical of Governor Greg Abbott's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically lockdowns, and was the first former elected official to call for the reopening of the state.[24]

On May 10, 2021, Huffines announced that he would challenge Abbott in the 2022 Republican primary for governor of Texas.[25] As a candidate, Huffines campaigned on closing the Texas border with Mexico; exposing voter fraud; eliminating property taxes; and illegalizing abortion.[26] The Don Huffines Campaign had 12 field offices across the state, over 70 people on payroll, and raised over $20 million.[27][28]

In a widely circulated video on Twitter, Huffines accused Abbott of using tax dollars to "promote transgender sexual policies to Texas youth".[29] Huffines criticized the Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) website, a state agency overseen by Governor Abbott, pointing out it encourages children to "express their identities."[30] This webpage was taken down within minutes of Huffines' initial video.[31] The Huffines campaign claimed credit for the move.[32]

Huffines is noted for pushing Abbott to the right on a variety of issues including vaccine mandates.[33]

Huffines declined to fire a staffer who had previously worked for conspiracy website InfoWars and who had ties to the white nationalist movement; in a statement, Huffines said that he had over 70 people on payroll and that his campaign would not engage in "cancel culture".[34][28]

On March 1, 2022, Huffines lost the Republican primary, placing third with 12% of the vote against Abbott.[35] In his concession statement, Huffines celebrated "driving the narrative", writing that he forced Governor Abbott to "deliver real conservative victories" on policy such as the Texas Heartbeat Act, Constitutional Carry, and protecting children from "abusive transgender transitioning".[36]

Comptroller

[edit]

In March 2025, incumbent comptroller Glenn Hegar announced his intent to resign in order to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.[37] On March 7, 2025, Huffines announced his candidacy for comptroller in the 2026 election. If elected, he said, "I will DOGE Texas by exposing waste, fraud, and abuse in government to increase efficiency and put every penny we save into property tax relief."[4]

In the primary election, his opponents were Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick and acting comptroller Kelly Hancock.[38] Hancock was state senator from district 9, but he resigned to become acting comptroller.[39] Governor Greg Abbott had appointed Hancock and endorsed him, but Huffines "swamped the primary with millions of his own wealth, self-funding his way to a dominant [finish]".[40]

On March 3, 2026, Huffines won the Republican primary with over 57% of the vote.[5] In the November general election, he was to face the Democratic nominee Sarah Eckhardt. At the start of July, Hancock announced that he would be resigning from his position of acting comptroller at the end of the month.[6] The next day Abbott announced that he would be appointing Huffines to the office for the remainder of the term.[7]

Huffines has lead a controversial reorganization at the comptroller's office, including the termination of 41 employees and hiring of a political strategist as deputy comptroller.[41][42]

Personal life

[edit]

Huffines and his wife of 35 years, Mary Catherine, have five children and ten grandchildren.[1]

On February 16, 2026, the Santa Fe New Mexican confirmed through public records that Huffines is the current owner of Zorro Ranch in New Mexico, a property previously owned by child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.[43] Four years after Epstein's death, the Huffines family purchased the property, listed at public auction with proceeds to benefit Epstein's victims;[44] they did so through a limited liability company not widely known to be associated with Huffines.[44][45]

Huffines Liberty Foundation

[edit]

In June 2022, Huffines launched the Huffines Liberty Foundation. The stated mission of the Huffines Liberty Foundation is to advance the cause of liberty, prosperity, and virtue in the State of Texas by educating citizens so they may hold their elected officials accountable.[10] The Foundation focuses on "common sense liberty principles" of individual rights, fiscal restraint, personal responsibility, limited government, and fiscal conservatism.[10] The think-tank has released over 15 white papers since October 2022.[46]

During the 88th legislative session in 2023, Huffines actively wrote commentary pieces in the Dallas Morning Newsand Houston Chronicle about the Foundation's plan to eliminate property taxes in Texas.[47][48]

In June 2023, Governor Greg Abbott called a special session to eliminate property taxes,[49] a priority of both the Don Huffines Campaign and Huffines Liberty Foundation.[26] Democratic Senator Nathan Johnson, who defeated Huffines in 2018, tweeted a photo of Governor Abbott's special session announcement and wrote "STILL don't understand how Don Huffines is running state policy. I beat him (5-1/2 years ago)."[50] Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick also credited Huffines for continuing to influence state policy on property tax elimination.[51]

Election history

[edit]

2022

[edit]
2022 Texas gubernatorial election Republican primary results[52]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Greg Abbott (incumbent) 1,299,059 66.48%
Republican Allen West 239,557 12.26%
Republican Don Huffines 234,138 11.98%
Republican Chad Prather 74,173 3.80%
Republican Ricky Lynn Perry 61,424 3.14%
Republican Kandy Kaye Horn 23,605 1.21%
Republican Paul Belew 11,387 0.58%
Republican Danny Harrison 10,829 0.55%
Total votes 1,954,172 100%

2018

[edit]
Texas's 16th State Senate District General Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Nathan Johnson 159,228 54.13
Republican Don Huffines (incumbent) 134,933 45.87
Total votes 294,161 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

2014

[edit]
Texas Republican primary election, 2014: Senate District 16[53]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Don Huffines 25,141 50.64
Republican John Carona (incumbent) 24,509 49.36
Texas general election, 2014: Senate District 16
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Don Huffines (unopposed) 106,546 100

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 "LBJ Conversations with Evan Smith: Don Huffines, former Texas State Senator and the Republican nominee for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts". patman.lbj.utexas.edu. Austin, Texas: Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs Patman Center for Civic and Political Engagement. April 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  2. ↑ Kera, Elizabeth Myong (May 11, 2021). "Who Is Don Huffines? Former State Senator Challenges Gov. Greg Abbott". Houston Public Media. Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Texas Primary Election Results". The New York Times. March 2022. Archived from the original on March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Scherer, Jasper (March 7, 2025). "Christi Craddick, Don Huffines announce bids for Texas comptroller after Hegar tapped for A&M chancellor". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on March 17, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  5. 1 2 Dyer, Meridith (March 3, 2026). "Don Huffines Secures Strong Win in Republican Comptroller Primary". The Texan. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  6. 1 2 Serrano, Alejandro (July 1, 2026). "Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock to step down as Texas CFO". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Serrano, Alejandro (July 2, 2026). "Gov. Abbott taps Don Huffines for Texas CFO opening". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 2, 2026.
  8. ↑ Hethcock, Bill (October 4, 2019). "Building on Inspiration: Q&A with Don Huffines, co-owner of Huffines Communities". BizJournals.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  9. ↑ "About". Huffines Enterprises. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 "About". Huffines Liberty Foundation. Archived from the original on March 18, 2025. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Donald Huffines". Ballotpedia. March 5, 2026. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ Shelley Kofler (March 19, 2014). "Don Huffines, Likely Headed To Texas Senate, Supports Term Limits, School Choice, Creationism". keranews.org. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ Rocha, Polo (July 8, 2015). "Just One Bill Among Three Freshman Senators". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  14. ↑ "The 2017 Texas Senate, from Right to Left, by Mark P. Jones". TribTalk. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Don Huffines". index.texastaxpayers.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Don Huffines". ratings.yct.org. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  17. ↑ "2017 Faith & Family Scorecard". Texas Values Action | The Advocacy Arm of Texas Values. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  18. ↑ Afiune, Giulia (June 27, 2017). "Hey, Texplainer: Do I still have to get my car inspected every year?". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  19. ↑ Cheshire, Cary (May 5, 2017). "Huffines Passes Bill to End Vehicle Inspections". Texas Scorecard. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Bill would wreck bond elections" (opinion), San Antonio Express-News, February 26, 2017, p. F2.
  21. 1 2 Anderson, Erin (March 9, 2017). "Huffines: Shut Down 'Rogue Bureaucracy' Dallas County Schools". Texas Scorecard. Archived from the original on November 29, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  22. ↑ George, David (September 4, 2019). "FBI Details Dallas County Bribery Scandal Over School Bus Stop-Arm Cameras". School Transportation News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Election Returns". Texas Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  24. ↑ Wallace, Jeremy (July 22, 2021). "Sen. Rand Paul wades into Texas governor's race against Abbott". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Newspapers. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
  25. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (May 10, 2021). "Republican former state Sen. Don Huffines launches primary challenge to Gov. Greg Abbott". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on May 10, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  26. 1 2 "Texas Issues | Don Huffines For Governor". February 12, 2022. Archived from the original on February 12, 2022. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Donald Huffines - Texas Candidate". Transparency USA. Archived from the original on October 2, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Texas Candidate For Governor Won't Fire Staffer With White Nationalist Ties". HuffPost. January 19, 2022. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  29. ↑ "It's offensive to see @GregAbbott_TX use our tax dollars to advocate for transgender ideology. This must end". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  30. ↑ Waltens, Brandon (August 31, 2021). "Texas State Agency 'Celebrates' Transgender Youth, Promotes LGBT Organization". Texas Scorecard. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Texas Removed an L.G.B.T.Q. Resource Page After a Candidate Complained (Published 2021)". October 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  32. ↑ Scherer, Jasper (October 12, 2021). "Prompted by Abbott challenger, Texas agency removes webpage with suicide hotline for LGBTQ youths". The Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 15, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  33. ↑ Coggins, Jessica Montoya (October 14, 2021). "Don Huffines is the most dangerous man in Texas". Texas Signal. Archived from the original on June 6, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  34. ↑ Hernandez, Emily (January 20, 2022). "Texas GOP gubernatorial candidate says he won't fire staffer tied to white nationalist movement". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on January 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  35. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (March 2, 2022). "Greg Abbott, Beto O'Rourke easily win gubernatorial primaries, setting up November race". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Official statement from Don Huffines". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  37. ↑ Priest, Jessica (March 7, 2025). "Glenn Hegar named as Texas A&M System's next leader". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on October 30, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  38. ↑ "GOP candidates for Texas Comptroller Christi Craddick and Don Huffines discuss why they're best for the job - CBS Texas". www.cbsnews.com. June 29, 2025. Archived from the original on August 7, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  39. ↑ Despart, Zach; Serrano, Alejandro (June 19, 2025). "Former Texas state Sen. Kelly Hancock to become acting comptroller, run for permanent job". The Texas Tribune. Archived from the original on December 31, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
  40. ↑ Serrano, Alejandro (March 6, 2026). "Don Huffines trounces Abbott ally to win Texas comptroller primary". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  41. ↑ Serrano, Alejandro (September 15, 2026). "Meet the Gen-Z GOP political consultant helping lead the Texas comptroller's office". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  42. ↑ Torres, Aaron (September 22, 2026). "Texas comptroller fires dozens of employees, casts it as end of 'wasteful spending'". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 24, 2026.
  43. ↑ Bates, Clara (February 13, 2026). "Texas businessman running for office owns Epstein's Zorro Ranch in Santa Fe County". Santa Fe New Mexican. Archived from the original on February 14, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  44. 1 2 Serrano, Alejandro (February 13, 2026). "Don Huffines' family bought Epstein's ranch after his death". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2026.
  45. ↑ Somerlad, Joe (February 16, 2026). "MAGA candidate in Texas is identified as owner of one of Epstein's properties". The Independent. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  46. ↑ "Issues". Huffines Liberty Foundation. August 14, 2023. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  47. ↑ "This is why Texas should eliminate school property taxes". Dallas News. June 6, 2023. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  48. ↑ Huffines, Don (April 28, 2023). "Huffines: Property tax cuts proposed by House and Senate are Band-Aid solutions". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on August 19, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  49. ↑ "Governor Abbott Announces Second Special Session Agenda". gov.texas.gov. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  50. ↑ "STILL don't understand how Don Huffines is running state policy. I beat him (5-1/2 years ago)". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  51. ↑ "This plan was put together by a guy who just spent $10 million to get about 8% of the vote to run against Abbott," Patrick says, taking aim at @DonHuffines". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on October 25, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.
  52. ↑ "Candidate Information". Texas Secretary of State John B. Scott. Archived from the original on November 6, 2022. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  53. ↑ "2014 Republican Party Primary Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

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