Latest news with #DonHuffines
CBS News
29-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
GOP candidates for Texas Comptroller Christi Craddick and Don Huffines discuss why they're best for the job
Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick and former State Senator Don Huffines, R-Dallas have their sights set on becoming Texas Comptroller. They're running in the 2026 GOP primary in March. 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."
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sen. Kelly Hancock to leave Senate, take over as acting Comptroller
AUSTIN (Nexstar) — State Sen. Kelly Hancock will leave the Texas Senate and be hired as the Chief Clerk in the Texas Comptroller's office, Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Thursday. Hancock will assume the role of Acting Comptroller of Public Accounts when Hegar takes on the role as the next Chancellor of the Texas A&M System on July 1. Hancock has served in the Senate as a representative from the 9th district — based in Tarrant County — since 2013. He was one of just two Senate Republicans who voted to convict Attorney General Ken Paxton in his 2023 impeachment trial. Hancock will join the field of high-profile Republican candidates for the 2026 Comptroller race, including former State Sen. Don Huffines and Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick. Huffines is among those questioning whether the move by the governor to appoint Hancock is permitted under the state constitution. Huffines reposted a post from a conservative member of the media on X, pointing out the 'holdover' provision of the Texas Constitution. The provision states that a public official must continue to perform the duties of their office until their successor is named. This would appear to suggest that Hancock could not cease performing his duties as a senator until a special election is held to replace him. That also appears to suggest that Hancock could not become Comptroller right away, because the Texas Constitution bars a public official from holding an office in the legislative and executive branches simultaneously. The move raises questions about his appointment to the position. After Hancock officially resigns his seat, Gov. Greg Abbott has to schedule a special election to replace him. The district is strongly Republican — Hancock won reelection in the 9th district by 20 points in 2022 — but given recent trends in special elections across the country, the seat has the potential to become competitive. With the inclusion of Hancock in the 2026 Comptroller race, three high-profile Republicans have announced their desire to control the state's pocketbooks. Craddick has served as Railroad Commissioner since 2012. 'As a mom and a lifelong Texan, I know how hard families work to stretch every dollar. Government should do the same,' Craddick wrote on her campaign website. 'At the Comptroller's Office, I'll bring a conservative approach, auditing everything, upgrading outdated technology, and making sure Texans get their money back faster. Government should work for the people, not the other way around.' Huffines won his first term in the Texas Senate in 2014, before losing his 2018 re-election bid to current State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas. Huffines later challenged Abbott in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary, finishing third with 12% of the vote. 'As your Texas Comptroller, I will DOGE our government to improve efficiency and root out waste and fraud,' Huffines wrote on his campaign website. 'I'll fight to return the savings to Texas taxpayers.' The Republican primary election is scheduled for March 3, 2026. Ed. Note: A previous version of this headline said Hancock was appointed to the Comptroller's office. Hancock was hired by the office as chief clerk and will assume the acting Comptroller role when Hegar leaves. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE GOP rising star Konner Earnest, linked to white supremacist Nick Fuentes, faces rape charges from two exes
A well-connected Texas political operative with far-right ties has been accused of raping two women and beating one of them. Konner Earnest, 22, was a rising star on the Texas conservative political scene, working for ex-lawmaker and governor candidate Don Huffines and influential ultra-conservative political consultancy Pale Horse Strategies. But he was reportedly fired in 2023 over his links to Hitler-admiring white supremacist influencer Nick Fuentes, who asked his followers to 'kill, rape and die' for him in one video, and repeatedly called for a 'holy war' against Jews. In arrest warrant affidavits filed by Texas police last week, Earnest was charged with the felony sexual assault of two women between 2021 and 2024, and a third felony charge of 'continuous violence against the family'. In one graphic and disturbing criminal complaint filed in Montgomery County, a woman he dated from 2020 to 2022 – referred to as H.H. – claimed he physically forced her into anal sex, leaving her bleeding, and raped her on several other occasions while she cried and told him to stop. Another complaint by a second ex-girlfriend he dated in 2023 and 2024 – referred to as E.M. – said that after an argument on January 13, 2024, he held her down and forced his penis into her mouth. The woman told police that on June 26 that year she and Earnest had a 'physical altercation', she hid from him in a closet, he found her and forced her into sex. This ex said three-quarters of the estimated 180 times they had sex were 'not consensual'. In arrest warrant affidavits filed by Texas police last week, Earnest was accused of the felony sexual assault of two women between 2021 and 2024, and a third felony charge of 'continuous violence against the family' She also told officers she was 'punched in the face multiple times' by Earnest, 'bitten on the hand causing permanent scarring', and 'burned with hot food and grease'. Earnest was arrested and released on $20,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for May 13, according to Montgomery District Court records. From a young age, the resident of Woodlands, Texas, was building an illustrious career in Republican politics. He wrote for right-wing news site Texas Scorecard, which gave him a 'Conservative Leader Award', and made videos for Texans For Strong Borders. In a 2022 interview with Texas right-wing site Current Revolt, he described working for the gubernatorial campaign of former Texas State Senator Don Huffines, a far-right challenger to Greg Abbott. But Earnest found himself in the center of a political firestorm in the Texas GOP in October 2023, when he was photographed at a controversial meeting of Republican leaders, donors, Fuentes and Kyle Rittenhouse – notorious for being acquitted after fatally shooting two men and injuring another during protests in Wisconsin in August 2020 – at the Pale Horse offices near Fort Worth. The Texas Tribune pictured Texas Republican Party Chair Matt Rinaldi, the multi-million-dollar GOP donor Jonathan Stickland, president of Texans for Strong Borders Chris Russo, and Fuentes entering the Pale Horse offices on October 6, 2023. The article helped prompt the Texas GOP to pass new rules banning association with anti-semitic individuals or groups. Earnest began to be frequently spotted at Texas GOP events after he started to work for governor candidate Don Huffines. In October 2023, he was spotted with conservative figure Kyle Rittenhouse, at the Pale Horse offices near Fort Worth, preparing for Fuentes' visit Rinaldi told the Tribune he was 'just borrowing a conference room', adding about Fuentes: 'I completely condemn that guy and everything he stands for. I would never in a million years meet with that guy.' Despite his acquittal for killing two Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020, Rittenhouse has become a prominent but controversial GOP activist. After the Tribune broke the story, Rittenhouse released a statement saying he left when he saw Fuentes at the meeting, adding that he had Holocaust victim relatives, and denounced Fuentes's 'hideous views'. But Earnest appears to have been an avid fan of Fuentes. He told Current Revolt that he watched Fuentes shows 'on a daily basis', and tweeted about getting a Mother Jones magazine cover story about Fuentes followers framed. Journalist Amanda Moore also published pictures of Earnest outside a Houston meeting of the European American Community, a group that espouses views linked to white nationalism, including that American citizenship should be based on European ancestry. Pale Horse reportedly fired Earnest after the Tribune story, according to then-Tribune writer Robert Downen. The 22-year-old was pictured with his arm around another far-right activist and former colleague at Pale Horse, Ella Maulding, at the Texas GOP annual convention in San Antonio last May. But troubles for Earnest came full force when one of his alleged victims filed a criminal complaint on April 16, saying he had 'knowingly penetrated the anus' without their consent The victim, referred to as H.H., dated Earnest from 2020 to 2022. She claimed he physically forced her into anal sex, leaving her bleeding, and raped her on several other occasions while she cried and told him to stop She said she recorded their final conversation in May 2022 in a church parking lot where he admitted he 'treated her like an object' Criminal complaints against Earnest were filed on April 16 in Montgomery District Court, with graphic and disturbing details of his alleged attacks on two former partners. In an arrest warrant affidavit, Montgomery Sheriff's Deputy Kristopher Dossey wrote that Earnest's ex-girlfriend, E.M., told them about alleged violent rape and sexual assaults that occurred throughout 2024. 'The first incident of non-consensual sexual penetration occurred on January 13, 2024, inside the defendant's bedroom,' Dossey wrote. 'After a verbal argument, the defendant became coercive and physically manipulative, ultimately forcing his penis into her mouth while she was lying on her back and verbally expressing discomfort and resistance.' The ex described 'numerous other instances' of sex 'without her consent'. 'She recalled one specific incident on June 26, also in The Woodlands, where she attempted to hide from the defendant following a physical altercation,' the affidavit said. 'The defendant entered the closet where she was hiding, forced her onto the floor, restrained her arms, and penetrated her vagina with his penis despite repeated verbal resistance and attempts to physically push him away.' The woman said they had sex 'between 120 to 180 times over the course of the relationship, and that approximately 70 to 75% of those encounters were not consensual.' The complaint, filed by another ex-girlfriend he dated in 2024, described violent sexual assault by Earnest, alleging that '70 to 75%' of the times they had sex was not consensual during their relationship The third felony charge was related to E.M.'s claim that he threw hot food at her in May 2024, which burned her skin, and hit her in the face with his hand The affidavit said she provided texts to police in which Earnest 'apologized for sexual and physical assaults'. The woman, E.M. who was named In a separate criminal complaint for domestic violence charges filed along with the sexual assault charges, claimed that Earnest repeatedly attacked her throughout their relationship, between August 2023 and August 2024. 'These included being punched in the face multiple times, bitten on the hand causing permanent scarring, shoved to the ground, burned with hot food and grease, and grabbed by the face and pushed to hard surfaces,' the officer's affidavit said. She claimed that on one occasion he 'threw a hot pan of eggs at her back', and on another occasion 'she was repeatedly punched and bitten during an argument'. 'The victim indicated that she documented some of her injuries through photographs and screenshots and later provided those digital files to law enforcement on a USB flash drive,' Dossey's affidavit said. The second accuser, H.H., told police that she dated Earnest between December 2020 and February 2022. She claimed that in July 2021, he 'came up behind her', 'pushed her against a wall' and forced her to have sex while she told him to stop. She told police that on Valentine's Day 2022, he 'held the victim's arms down and pinned her legs against the side of the bed' and then forced her to have anal sex, while she 'screamed out for the defendant to stop'. The ex said the alleged horrific ordeal left her 'bleeding', and she broke up with him over it.
