Approximately 1.6 million Republican primary voters — three out of four — cast a ballot for at least one pledge signer. Huffines wins Comptroller outright. Toth unseats Crenshaw. County chairs go 8-for-8. Anti-pledge attack mailers fail to move voters.
Eighty-three candidates who signed the Texas First Pledge appeared on Tuesday’s Republican primary ballot across Texas. When the votes were counted, roughly 30 won outright in non-precinct races, at least two head to May 26 runoffs, and the movement’s existing legislative bench survived intact — with no losses attributable to signing the pledge.
An analysis of the results shows that approximately 1.6 million Texans — roughly three out of every four Republican primary voters — cast a vote for at least one candidate who signed the Texas First Pledge, a commitment to support Texas self-governance, including a referendum on Texas independence. That figure is anchored by Don Huffines’s 1,174,599-vote victory in the Comptroller’s race and accounts for voter overlap across the 83 pledge signers who appeared on ballots from the statewide level down to precinct chair. Even using the most conservative methodology, at least 1.5 million unique voters backed a pledge signer somewhere on their ballot.
Huffines Wins Comptroller With 57.4%
Don Huffines won the Republican nomination for Comptroller outright with 1,174,599 votes, clearing the 50% threshold by a wide margin against three opponents, including acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock (23.6%) and Christi Craddick (15.1%). Huffines will face the Democratic nominee in November. When he takes office, he will be the first Texas First Pledge signer to hold statewide constitutional office.
Toth Defeats Crenshaw in CD-2
State Rep. Steve Toth defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw in Congressional District 2, making Crenshaw the first member of Congress to lose renomination in the 2026 cycle. Crenshaw had outraised Toth by more than $1.5 million. Sen. Ted Cruz endorsed Toth and appeared in super PAC ads supporting his campaign. Trump did not endorse Crenshaw.
County Chairs: 8 Wins, 0 Losses
Pledge signers ran a perfect record in Republican county chair races:
- Kyle Biedermann won Gillespie County with 59.2%, defeating incumbent Bruce Campbell. The former State Rep won by 1,203 votes after hand-counted Election Day ballots stretched counting to nearly 3 AM.
- Brian Fitzgerald won Nacogdoches County with 63.6%, defeating interim chair Nicole Tarpley by 1,008 votes.
- Gwen Withrow survived a close challenge in Montgomery County, winning 51.2% to 48.8% — a margin of roughly 1,004 votes in one of the largest Republican county parties in Texas.
- Allen West was re-elected in Dallas County.
- Michael McCracken held Angelina County.
- Tonya Sue Logsdon (Somervell), Robert Poynter (Tyler), and Eric Riddle (Ochiltree) were all unopposed.
State House: 9-for-9 Incumbents Hold
Every incumbent State Representative who signed the Texas First Pledge won re-election. Six were unopposed: Brent Money (HD-2), Janis Holt (HD-18), A.J. Louderback (HD-30), Wesley Virdell (HD-53), Shelley Luther (HD-62), and Mitch Little (HD-65). Three won contested primaries: Keresa Richardson (HD-61), Andy Hopper (HD-64), and David Lowe (HD-91).
Two additional pledge signers — Timothy McDonough (HD-114) and Ben Mostyn (HD-117) — were unopposed in their primaries and advance to November general elections against Democratic incumbents.
Eleven pledge-signing challengers lost to incumbents in contested State House races, consistent with the structural advantage incumbents hold in Texas Republican primaries.
Anti-Pledge Attack Mailers Tested — and Failed
Catalyst Advisors Group, a political consulting firm, handled campaigns for both Trent Ashby in the SD-3 Senate race and Lisa McEntire in the HD-64 House race. In both contests, Catalyst produced ads and mailers attacking the opposing pledge signers — Rhonda Ward and Andy Hopper — specifically for signing the Texas First Pledge, using “secession” as the attack frame.
Hopper won his race.
On Election Day in Decatur, a McEntire campaign volunteer approached a voter outside a polling location and asked for his support. The voter refused, telling her it was specifically because of the mailer attacking Hopper on independence. He then approached Hopper directly and told him: “I voted for you last time, but I realized when your opponent went after you on secession that she was a total RINO. And we need to secede.”
Ward lost SD-3, finishing with 36.6% to Ashby’s 63.4% despite receiving a $2 million donation. Her loss has been attributed to Ashby’s deep establishment support in the district. There is no evidence that the anti-pledge attack affected her result.
Other Notable Results
SBOE: Kason Huddleston won the SBOE-9 primary outright, defeating fellow pledge signer Rachel Hogue and one other candidate.
County-level wins: Tim Sprinkle won the Angelina County Commissioner Pct 1 special election with 61.1%. Tamara McFarlane won Fort Bend County Clerk with 52.7%. Rebecca Eubank won McLennan County District Clerk with 66.2%.
Runoffs (May 26): Shannon Birkelbach finished first in the Waller County Commissioner Pct 2 race with 43.3% and is favored heading into a runoff against Robert Goodspeed (34.6%). Barbara Harrell earned second place in the Comal County JP Pct 3 race with 23.1% and faces frontrunner Timothy Davis (37.6%) as the underdog.
Statewide and Congressional Losses
Sid Miller lost his re-election bid for Agriculture Commissioner to Nate Sheets, 47.3% to 52.7%. Gov. Abbott had endorsed Sheets. Miller had faced multiple ethics controversies during his tenure.
Pete Chambers finished second in the governor’s race with 11.1% (237,038 votes) against Abbott’s 81.8%. Timothy Mabry finished second for lieutenant governor with 8.8% against Patrick’s 84.8%.
Chris Hatley lost CD-27 to incumbent Michael Cloud, 27% to 73%. Weston Martinez did not advance in the 12-way CD-21 primary. Quico Canseco finished fourth in CD-23 with approximately 6%.
Net Result
After November’s general elections, more Texas First Pledge signers are expected to hold public office than at any previous point — spanning precinct chairs, county clerks, justices of the peace, county party chairs, State Board of Education members, State Representatives, a U.S. Congressman, and the Texas Comptroller.
The Texas First Pledge is a commitment by candidates and officeholders to put the interests of Texas and Texans first and to support the right of Texans to vote on independence. To sign the pledge, visit taketexasback.com. To join TEXIAN, the movement’s organizing platform, visit texian.app.
