Why Tomorrow’s Texas Comptroller Vote Matters

While the U.S. Senate race remains the most closely watched contest in Texas, the Republican primary for Texas Comptroller has also drawn significant attention. Four candidates are competing for the GOP nomination to replace Glenn Hegar, who resigned last year to become chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

Former state senator Don Huffines was the first to enter the race following Hegar’s departure. Governor Greg Abbott, who has a long and public feud with Huffines, responded by appointing state senator Kelly Hancock as Acting Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, giving Hancock the advantage of incumbency heading into the primary. Huffines had previously mounted a primary challenge to Governor Abbott in 2022.

Hancock’s appointment left his Tarrant County based Senate seat vacant. A subsequent special election resulted in Democrat Taylor Rehmet flipping the district, a political upset that underscored the broader stakes of the Comptroller race and intensified scrutiny of Abbott’s decision.

Cristi Craddick, a Texas Railroad Commissioner, and Michael Berlanga, a CPA and taxpayer advocate, have also entered the race and could play influential roles in determining its outcome. Huffines has been widely viewed as the frontrunner, but the contest tightened after reports surfaced that he used a shell company to purchase Zorro Ranch, the former property of Jeffrey Epstein.

Berlanga spoke with American Liberty Media about the race and the responsibilities of the Texas Comptroller’s office, arguing that voters should pay closer attention to a position that plays a central role in state taxation and school funding. Berlanga is an expert in tax policy, and has spent the last several years educating Texans on how to protest their property tax bills.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts is one of the most powerful and least understood offices in state government. The Comptroller serves as Texas’ chief financial officer, overseeing tax collection and certifying revenue estimates, while also playing a major role in how school funding is calculated. According to Berlanga, the office’s authority extends directly into local property valuations.

“The controller by law is required issue property value study every two years or every year as necessary,” Berlanga said. He wants to use the comptroller’s office to help the taxpayer reduce their tax burden at a time when many families are struggling economically.

Berlanga also warned that economic stress is already visible across the state, saying, “Every county in the state right now February 2026 has more unpaid accounts that they have had in the last decade,” and adding, “people can’t afford to pay their property taxes.”

Berlanga argues that his professional background sets him apart from the rest of the field. “For the first time you’ll have a Texan that is a taxpayer advocate,” he argues, “not a single other candidate is even addressing the role.”

Much of the messaging in this race has been dominated by who has endorsed who. Kelly Hancock touts the support of Governor Abbott, and is backed by his war chest. Huffines is self-funding millions into his own campaign and continues to send text messages to voters highlighting that the late Charlie Kirk had endorsed his campaign prior to his death.

With multiple high profile candidates competing for the office, the Comptroller’s race has emerged as one of the most consequential contests on the Republican primary ballot. Beyond political rivalries, the outcome will determine who oversees state revenue estimates, property value studies, and key mechanisms affecting school finance and taxation across Texas.

Primary Election Day is tomorrow, and Texans will decide not only who advances in the Comptroller’s race, but what direction the powerful office will take in the years ahead. While the U.S. Senate contest has dominated headlines, the Comptroller’s election will shape how taxes are assessed, how schools are funded, and how state government measures its own financial health, making it a race with lasting consequences for voters across the state.