Texas comptroller GOP primary attracts big money from donors with business before the agency
The GOP primary for Texas comptroller of public accounts is shaping up to be an expensive one, with candidates hauling in millions in contributions from donors whose businesses will be affected by the decisions of the state’s next chief financial officer.
The three candidates in the race had collectively raised nearly $10 million as of early September, even as two of the contenders were under a fundraising moratorium for the first half of the year, while the Legislature was in session. Former state Sen. Don Huffines leads the pack, followed by Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick and Interim Comptroller Kelly Hancock. In comparison, former comptroller Glenn Hegar and his primary opponents had raised a combined $674,000 around at the same point in the 2014 cycle, the last time the office was open.
Experts say the cash influx in part reflects the authority the office has over a wide range of business sectors. For instance, the comptroller is in charge of collecting dozens of taxes in the state, developing statewide contracts for goods, overseeing the state’s corporate tax incentives program and managing $50 billion worth of assets — all on top of shepherding the state budget and calculating revenue estimates for state lawmakers, who write a new budget every two years.
“That obviously is going to lead you to a situation where there are going to be people who are gonna have a financial interest in that office,” said Brendan Glavin, of the Washington, D.C.-based government transparency group OpenSecrets. He said that is why comptrollers in many states are not elected. “There’s a lot of potential for bad actors to get involved.”
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/12/24/texas-comptroller-gop-primary-fundraising-2026/