GOP candidates for Texas Comptroller Christi Craddick and Don Huffines discuss why they're best for the job
While they have been in the race for months, former State Senator Kelly Hancock , R-North Richland Hills, is getting a jump start. On July 1, he will become the Acting Texas Comptroller after the outgoing Comptroller, Glenn Hegar, hired him as Chief Clerk. Hegar is set to become the Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System on July 1. Hancock also announced he's running for the job in the Republican primary next March and was backed by Governor Abbott.
In an interview for Eye On Politics, Craddick told CBS News Texas that her experience running statewide and overseeing a state agency are important. "I'm a Railroad Commissioner. I've just won my third election, so I'm the only statewide candidate who's won a primary. In fact, last cycle, I had four people in my primary against me and I won without a runoff. So not only that, I've won statewide across the state. I think that's a real positive people know who I am. I've been around in this state for a bit and run a good agency. First and foremost, as you walk into any business in the agency you audit, and see what is going on at that agency. How long is it taking to audit? How long is itaking to get refunds back to people. So I think those are real specifics that we need to make sure we're doing for taxpayers in the state."
Huffines, the former State Senator, said in an interview for Eye On Politics that he's taking his lead from the President. "I'm going to follow Donald Trump's leadership skills. We're going to bring a sense of urgency to Austin, Texas. I don't want to just DOGE the Comptroller's Office, I'm going to DOGE every agency I can in the State of Texas and what that means is auditing government. It means root out fraud, waste, and abuse and return the savings I find to the taxpayers, hopefully via property tax relief."
Candidate endorsements
Huffines, who challenged Governor Abbott in the GOP primary in March 2022, exchanged insults with him after Abbott endorsed Hancock. Huffines said in a post on X, "The political elite are manipulating the system to install another go along to get along lapdog as State Comptroller." When asked by CBS News Texas what he meant by that Huffines said, "I'm focused really on my campaign. I'm focused on traveling the state of Texas talking to voters. This was a manipulation of the process. There's no question about it by the establishment-Bush wing of the Republican party. I think the voters are going to see through that. That's why I'm going to win." Huffines is backed by Senator Ted Cruz.
In his announcement backing Hancock, the Governor said, "I endorse Kelly Hancock because I want a candidate who will actually win the election, not someone who's already lost an election to a Democrat." Huffines lost his State Senate seat to Democrat Nathan Johnson. When asked if he had a response to the Governor's statement Huffines said, "I'm focused on my race. I really am. When I won the Senate race, I'd done something that had never been done before: I knocked a 20 year plus incumbent (John Carona) in the Republican primary. I'm just focused on talking to the voters."
New task for Texas Comptroller
During this next year, the Comptroller's Office has a new function: implement the $1 billion school choice program featuring Education Savings Accounts or ESA's. The office must do so my June 15, 2026, so that the program can be ready to begin for the 2026-27 school year.
Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink asked how important it is that the Comptroller's Office set-up the program on-time, on-budget, and make it easy for parents to navigate. Craddick said, "I think that's a priority. The legislature's school savings accounts, education savings accounts. I'm excited by it. If we don't do it right in the state, then we're going to have a real problem, and people will be mad and they should be. And it's real dollars. One billion dollars is a lot of money. This isn't an easy program to implement. You've got to understand procurement. You've got to go out and get those bids and get it implemented really quickly."
Huffines said ESA's were a priority for him while he served in the Senate and remain so today. "I'm excited about that. The Comptroller is in charge of the waiting list, the marketing of the program, implementing it with the five management companies that are going to be managing up to 100,000 ESA accounts. It's incredibly important that we don't stumble and we get this correct."
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