After losing his race for Texas comptroller, Don Huffines turned his anger toward Republican leaders during an election-night speech to supporters.
Huffines criticized Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, blaming them and other party leaders for the Republicans’ losses.
“It’s going to be almost impossible to win this state back,” Huffines said in a video shared early Wednesday. “I blame it on our leadership. I blame Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, and all the people in the mushy middle who want to make everybody happy. Well, you sure did a good job creating this mess.”
He said voters had grown weary of Abbott and Patrick seeking fourth terms.
“I hope they’re happy, because now we’re all going to suffer,” Huffines said. “I blame it all on our leadership.”
Huffines also argued that Republicans had failed to make a convincing case on policy. Campaign promises to lower property taxes, he said, only reminded voters that the party had not delivered on the issue during its years in power.
He then accused the leaders of disregarding voters and grassroots Republicans.
“They didn’t do it 12 years ago because they don’t care about you,” he said. “I served with them. They laugh at and make fun of you and the grassroots. They never cared about our party platform, and they still don’t.”
Huffines wondered aloud what supporters should do next, saying many people cared about the party’s losses but asking, “Who are you going to call? There’s no one left.”
Texas Republicans lost the governor’s race, the lieutenant governor’s contest and one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats. The results also helped Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress.
Huffines lost the comptroller race to Sarah Eckhardt, who is set to become the first Democrat to hold the office since the last millennium.
