Former state Sen. Don Huffines defeated acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock in the Republican primary for state comptroller on Tuesday, setting up a November general election matchup against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin.
Huffines, a Dallas real estate developer and former state senator who ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2022, positioned himself as the more conservative outsider candidate against Hancock, whom Gov. Greg Abbott appointed as acting comptroller in January 2025 following the resignation of Glenn Hegar. Hancock, a former state senator from North Richland Hills, had the advantages of incumbency and establishment backing heading into Tuesday's contest but couldn't hold off Huffines.
The comptroller's office is one of the most consequential in Texas government. The officeholder serves as the state's chief financial officer, managing more than $200 billion in annual state revenues, certifying the state budget, and overseeing tax collection and economic forecasting for the second-largest state economy in the country.
On the Democratic side, Eckhardt - a Travis County state senator and former Travis County judge - won her party's primary without significant opposition. She enters the general election as a decided underdog in a statewide race. No Democrat has won a Texas statewide office since 1994.
Huffines will carry the Republican nomination into what is expected to be a heavily Republican-leaning general election in November. His 2022 gubernatorial run, in which he challenged Abbott from the right before ultimately dropping out, established his profile among conservative primary voters and likely helped fuel Tuesday's upset.
The general election between Huffines and Eckhardt will play out against the backdrop of tight state budget pressures, ongoing debates over school finance, and questions about how Texas manages its revenue amid slowing oil and gas receipts.