Don Huffines
| Donald Blaine Huffines | |
 | |
Texas State Senator for District 16
| |
| In office 2015–2019 | |
| Succeeded by | Nathan M. Johnson |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1958 Commerce, Texas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Dallas, Texas |
| Religion | Christianity |
Donald Blaine Huffines, known as Don Huffines (born April 26, 1958), is an American conservative politician who served District 16 in the Texas State Senate from January 13, 2015, to January 8, 2019[1]He was defeated for a second term in the general election of 2018, when the Democrat Nathan M. Johnson was elected to the position with 159,228 votes (54.1 percent) compared to Huffines' 134,933 (45.9 percent).
In 2026, Huffines is seeking the Republican nomination for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. The position opened when Glenn Hegar announced his resignation to become the chancellor of Texas A&M University System. Huffines' primary opponents are Christi Craddick, one of the state's three Railroad Commissioners (despite the title, the agency doesn't handle railroads, it handles fossil fuel and mining oversight), and Kelly Hancock, a former Texas State Senator who was named interim Comptroller upon Hegar's resignation.
Huffines and his brother operate a real estate development firm in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; the family's fortune comes from their grandfather, who started a network of automotive dealerships still owned and operated by the family.
Huffines ran in the Republican primary on March 1, 2022, against the two-term incumbent Governor Greg Abbott and former Texas Republican state chairman Allen West, also a former U.S. Representative from Florida.[2]. He advocates for securing the Texas-Mexico border/completing the wall, banning Critical race theory from Texas education, opposition to taxpayer-funded tuition for illegal immigrant students, opposing abortion, eliminating property taxes, and prioritizing election integrity among others.[3]
Huffines received the endorsement of border Mayor Don McLaughlin, Jr., of Uvalde. He finished in a weak third-place position in the gubernatorial primary. He narrowly trailed Allen West, but the easy primary winner was Governor Abbott, who then handily defeated the Democrat Beto O'Rourke in the November 8, 2022 general election.
