In this Democratic primary, three candidates are competing for a chance to become Texas’ comptroller. This state official is responsible for collecting taxes, handling Texas’ coffers, estimating how much tax money the state will collect so lawmakers can budget and more.
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin brings the widest breadth of political experience at the state level. In our candidate interview, she demonstrated a strong command of this office’s most important functions. We recommend Eckhardt in this primary.
Eckhardt, 61, was elected to the state Senate in 2020. Before that, she served in the Travis County Commissioners Court, including as county judge. She’s also a former prosecutor.
The property tax appraisal process is “pretty uneven” at the local level, Eckhardt said. The comptroller is supposed to oversee this process and ensure it’s fair, but that isn’t happening right now, she said.
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Eckhardt wrote in our Voter Guide that she wants to use the Rainy Day Fund to make an investment in water and broadband infrastructure. She would also seek to create an online dashboard showing the state’s revenue and expenditures, and develop an artificial-intelligence governance policy for the comptroller’s office.
Eckhardt named transparency and trust as two of her top priorities and emphasized the importance of the comptroller’s independence from other powerful politicians in Austin.
“The Comptroller must be a watchdog for the taxpayer and not a lapdog for rich and powerful interests,” Eckhardt wrote.
Texas used to have a program meant to help businesses owned by historically disadvantaged groups. But in December, acting comptroller Kelly Hancock announced that his office was restructuring it to focus on veterans instead. That involved “removing race- and sex-based preferences and adjusting the program’s focus to service-disabled veterans.”
In our Voter Guide, Eckhardt and her two competitors said they would reinstate the program. That could be a risky proposition given that similar programs have run afoul of federal policy and have faced increasing legal scrutiny in recent years.
Houston ISD trustee Savant Moore, 40, is also in this race. Due to a state takeover in the district, the school board’s governance responsibilities have been suspended. In an interview, Moore showed an acute understanding of the problems Texans face and articulated thoughtful ideas for solving them.
Also running is finance professional Michael Lange, 62. We appreciate his authentic approach but do not think he has the depth of knowledge of state politics required for this role.
This editorial is part of the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board’s slate of recommendations for the 2026 primary. Find the full project here.
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