Paxton, Huffines Spend Millions In GOP Bid For Texas’ Only Open State Senate Seat

Relatives of state officials bank on name ID in Collin County race.

By Christopher ConnellyFebruary 13, 2018 9:30 am, , ,

From KERA:

The race for Texas’ only open state Senate seat up for election this year is heating up. Two well-connected candidates with well-known names are spending millions to win the Collin County seat, which was left empty when state Sen. Van Taylor announced he’d be stepping down to run for Congress.

Phillip Huffines, the Dallas County Republican Party chairman, and Angela Paxton, the wife of the Texas Attorney General, are duking it out in the GOP primary that’s become the most expensive state Senate race in Texas.

Huffines benefits from a name easily recognizable from the family’s chain of auto dealerships spread across north Texas. He’s got a stake in the company, but his brother Ray runs the auto dealership’s operations.

Politically, the Huffines name is better associated Dallas state Sen. Don Huffines, who is Phillip’s twin. The pair run Huffines Communities, a real estate company. Phillip says their politics are pretty much identical.

“I’m going to be just like him. I’m never going to be for sale. I am strictly there for the voters,” Huffines said. “There’s a little sibling rivalry there: We’re going to compete to be the most conservative senator in the state of Texas.”

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