Texas GOP's Huffines Blames Abbott, Patrick After Democratic Sweep

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines, a Republican who lost his bid for a full term Tuesday, pointed the finger squarely at his own party’s top leaders, blaming Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for a night that saw Democrats sweep the top of the Texas ballot.

“I blame it on our leadership, I just do,” Huffines told supporters Tuesday night, according to Texian Partisan. “I blame this on Greg Abbott. I blame it on Dan Patrick.”

“I blame this on @GregAbbott_TX. I blame it on @DanPatrick . I blame it all on our leadership. Thinking they’re going to go for four terms as Governor. Four terms as Lt. Governor. Seriously?! If they campaigned on lowering your property taxes all that did is remind everybody why… https://t.co/qwQeh6Fu4s pic.twitter.com/Hk8PGsA3Dj

— Michael Olaya (@michaelaolaya) November 4, 2026

Huffines lost to Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin, who led him 51.3 percent to 46.2 percent in unofficial returns, according to Texian Partisan. The Texas Tribune reported that Eckhardt becomes the first Democrat to oversee the powerful state office in decades.

‘Seriously?!’

In remarks captured on video and posted to X by reporter Michael Olaya, Huffines took aim at Abbott’s and Patrick’s decisions to seek fourth terms. “Thinking they’re going to go for four terms as Governor. Four terms as Lt. Governor. Seriously?!” he said in the video. “If they campaigned on lowering your property taxes all that did is remind everybody why you didn’t do it 12 years ago.”

The Houston Chronicle reported that Huffines argued Republicans had failed to deliver on promises such as lowering property taxes, leaving them with little to run on. According to Texian Partisan, he also blamed “all the mushy middle people that wanna think they’re in the middle” and said party leaders “never cared about our party platform, and they still don’t.”

“I know there’s a lot of people that care. There’s a lot of great patriots,” Huffines said, according to Texian Partisan. “What are we gonna do? Who are you gonna call? There’s no one left.”

A wipeout at the top of the ticket

The comptroller’s loss was part of a broader collapse for Texas Republicans. Abbott, Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton all lost, and Democratic candidates led all but one statewide race in unofficial returns early Wednesday, according to Texian Partisan, citing the Texas Secretary of State. The Houston Chronicle described Texas Republicans as turning on their leaders after the blue wave.

Huffines’ attack on Abbott carries history. Four years ago he challenged Abbott in the Republican primary for governor and lost, according to the Texas Tribune. This year he trounced Abbott’s preferred candidate in the GOP primary for comptroller, and Abbott then appointed him to the office about three months before Tuesday’s election, the Tribune reported.

The Texas Tribune noted that Huffines, a former state senator, had long pushed to eliminate property taxes and called for Texas to build its own wall along the border before Abbott took up the same idea.

Eckhardt declared victory Tuesday night, according to the Texas Tribune, which reported that her campaign centered on running the office as a government watchdog that scrutinizes state spending on Republican-led efforts.

For conservatives who have spent years warning that Austin’s Republican establishment talked a bigger game on property taxes than it delivered, Huffines’ remarks are likely to sharpen an argument that was already brewing. Whether the party’s leaders answer it is the next question for Texas Republicans heading into 2028.

Reporting by Daily Beltway.