Texas Gov . Greg Abbott clout tested in high - stakes GOP comptroller primary March 3

dallasnews.com · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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AUSTIN – Gov. Greg Abbott faces little threat in his own GOP primary. The real test of his clout may be the race for Texas comptroller, where the winner will control his new school voucher program.The race pits the governor’s choice, Kelly Hancock, who Abbott endorsed when he left the Senate for the comptroller’s office last year, against one of the governor’s most vocal foes, Don Huffines of Dallas, a former state senator. Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick also is running in the March 3 primary.The seat is one of a handful statewide that is open for the first time in more than a decade this election cycle, marking a rare opportunity to seize an office that has been used as a platform for more prominent posts. “Succession in Texas politics is on the ballot,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. “There’s a lot of jockeying for position for the future of the Republican Party in Texas.”Breaking NewsGet the latest breaking news from North Texas and beyond.Or with: GoogleBy signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.Hancock is running on his ties to Abbott, saying he’ll work as the governor’s chief financial officer – a departure from past comptrollers who sometimes butted heads with governors.That has been clear in the initial rollout of the voucher program. Hancock has sought to block Islamic schools from the program, accusing them of being tied to a Muslim civil rights group Abbott declared a terrorist organization. He and the governor have appeared in ads promoting vouchers, as well.Hancock, who recently suspended a decades-long minority- and women-owned contracting program, said he’s “not afraid to make tough decisions” and vows to eliminate remaining DEI efforts.Hancock worked closely with Abbott as the former chair of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee and became a go-to economic adviser to the governor during the large-scale disruptions, such as the pandemic and deadly winter freeze in 2021.“When you’re CEO, which is essentially what the governor is, one of the most important hires you make is for that CFO, that chief financial officer,” said Hancock, the previous owner of a Dallas-area chemical company. “It needs to be somebody that you’ve got experiences with, that you can trust, that has a resume that’s strong. It’s a key position for that CEO of the state of Texas, make sure you have a CFO that, you know, you can count on,” he said.Conservative clashFormer Texas state Sen. Don Huffines waves to the crowd after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, July 10, 2021, in Dallas. (Elias Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)Elias Valverde II / Staff PhotographerIt’s less clear how Huffines would work with the governor, especially on vouchers. Huffines has long been a critic of Abbott’s and spent heavily trying to oust him in the 2022 governor’s race, labeling Abbott a “weak leader” and a “coward.” He’s running to the right of Hancock, promising to expand the agency’s investigative powers to go after state agencies and spending.Huffines said in an interview he was “excited” to work with Abbott if elected but emphasized that he reports “to the people” who elected him.Huffines said “bureaucrats think they run Texas” and has pledged to “DOGE Texas” by cutting state government more directly.Past comptrollers have created headaches for the governors they serve alongside. Carole Keeton Strayhorn regularly clashed with then-Gov. Rick Perry, both Republicans, and even refused to certify the state budget in 2003. Two years later, Texas Monthly said she was “engaged in a high-risk guerrilla strategy of seizing every chance to blast, waylay, and otherwise embarrass the governor, the lieutenant governor” and, occasionally, the House speaker.The next year, she ran against Perry, coming in third place in a five-way race. Rottinghaus said it wouldn’t be hard to imagine a similar dynamic with Huffines. “He would be a burr under Abbott’s saddle,” Rottinghaus said.Railroad Commissioner of Texas Christi Craddick during a general meeting as part of the 2022 Republican Party of Texas State Convention at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas on Friday, June 17, 2022.Lola Gomez / Staff PhotographerCraddick, who has served on the Railroad Commission since 2012, has had a far less contentious relationship with Abbott. In the campaign, she has called for a “top-to-bottom” audit of state spending. Abbott appointed her to the Southern States Energy Board in 2015 but passed her over for Hancock when he was looking to fill the comptroller seat.Air blitz beginsWith early voting starting Tuesday, Hancock has stepped up his spending and is leaning heavily on Abbott’s endorsement. His campaign has spent $3 million airing ads on TV and streaming platforms touting Abbott’s support, according to AdImpact, which tracks political advertising. “Texas is going to be a better state with Kelly Hancock as your comptroller,” Abbott says in the ad.But Hancock has been outspent so far by Huffines, who has spent more than $4 million, according to AdImpact. Huffines launched new TV ads recently, calling himself “the Trump Republican” in the race. The ads don’t mention Abbott, whose campaign declined to comment for this story.Abbott, who has amassed $100 million in campaign donations, has so far not started spending any of that in the comptroller’s race – and it’s unclear if he will. Wayne Hamilton, a GOP strategist who ran Abbott’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign, said the governor is likely helping Hancock raise his own cash from Abbott’s deep-pocketed backers.