Republican Could Resign from Senate
and Run for Comptroller as Top Deputy
Capitol Inside
June 18, 2025
The Texas Capitol was sizzling on Wednesday with tales of a potential gambit in the works with a narrative that would involve Republican State Senator Kelly Hancock leaving the Legislature to take a job as the second highest-ranking official at the comptroller's office that he would try to win at the polls in 2026.
The veteran lawmaker from North Richland Hills has appeared to be Governor Greg Abbott's top choice to replace outgoing Comptroller Glenn Hegar when he steps down at the end of the month so he can go to work as the next chancellor at the Texas A&M University System. But Abbott can't appoint a legislator to another elective position during the term in which he or she was elected based on an opinion he issued after three weeks on the job as attorney general in late 2002.
The scenario that's making its way though the statehouse features Hegar as a linchpin who would name Hancock as his chief deputy before his last day in the powerful statewide position that he's held for the past 10 years.
Hancock would be the acting comptroller for as long as it takes for the governor to appoint a formal successor to Hegar to serve in the agency's lead role until a replacement is elected in the general election next year.
Abbott would be forced to call a special election for the Senate District 9 seat that Hancock won initially in 2012 after six years in the House. But the governor could delay an appointment to the comptroller's office as long as he pleased if he wanted Hancock to run for the position with the appearance of incumbency in a GOP primary field that already includes Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick and former Senate member Don Huffines.
Or Hancock could attempt to get the job the old-fashioned way by launching a campaign for comptroller without giving up a Senate seat that's guaranteed until the end of his current term after the 2026 election. Abbott under such a plan could appoint someone who would be a placeholder as comptroller without plans to seek the job in next year's elections.
The governor could throw his muscle behind Hancock and urge his own own donors, big special interests and their lobbyists in Austin to rally behind him as well in the comptroller's competition next year.
The multi-dimensional strategy that could kick off before the end of the week appears to be risky play with substantial potential to backfire. Hancock for starters has no experience running a state agency or managing a workforce as big as the one Hegar oversees now. Hancock could expect the blame for any problems or turmoil if he's running the show at the comptroller's office when trouble erupts.
Hancock wouldn't have Hegar as a mentor and would be forced as a result to rely on agency employees for on-the-job training that would be extensive and time-consuming if was done more than appearance sake. Worse yet, Hancock could expect to spend considerable time on the defensive against charges of sweetheart dealing that opponents on the campaign trail would lodge if he tried the back-door approach to get the job they're trying to win fair and square at the ballot box.
more to come ...
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