{"id":167918,"date":"2026-02-17T08:26:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:26:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/167918\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T08:26:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:26:35","slug":"comptroller-candidate-don-huffines-family-owns-former-epstein-ranch-in-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/167918\/","title":{"rendered":"Comptroller candidate Don Huffines\u2019 family owns former Epstein ranch in New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DonDon Huffines speaks at a campaign event at the Womens Club of Rockport on Feb. 7, 2022. The former state lawmaker is running to become the state\u2019s comptroller. Credit: Texas Tribune \/ Michael Gonzalez<\/p>\n

The family of Don Huffines, a former Republican Texas senator who is now campaigning to become the state\u2019s comptroller, bought the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico after the child sex trafficker and molester died.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years after Mr. Epstein\u2019s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims. Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property,\u201d Huffines\u2019 campaign spokesperson Allen Blakemore said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n

The ownership was first reported earlier Friday by the Santa Fe New Mexican<\/a>, which attributed its reporting to public records obtained through public information requests.<\/p>\n

A limited liability corporation tied to the Huffines family bought the property in 2023 for an undisclosed amount, and later protested its valuation to $13.4 million for tax purposes in part because of the \u201cnotoriety\u201d of the property, according to the New Mexico newspaper<\/a>. Public records received by the paper tied Huffines to the company.<\/p>\n

Huffines, a businessman, previously served in the Texas Senate representing the Dallas area. He unsuccessfully challenged<\/a> Gov. Greg Abbott<\/a> in 2022. A poll released this week<\/a> showed he is heading into early voting next week with a steady lead over the other candidates in the primary for comptroller. The comptroller acts as the state\u2019s chief financial officer, managing the state\u2019s taxes, investments and other duties.<\/p>\n

Huffines faces Acting Comptroller Kelly Hancock, a former state senator appointed to the job last summer<\/a> by Abbott, Michael Berlanga and Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick in the March 3 Republican primary.<\/p>\n

The revelation of the ownership arrived in the wake of the latest release of documents from the U.S. Department of Justice about Epstein, whose death has created conspiracy theories due to the billionaire\u2019s connections to the nation\u2019s powerful \u2014 from elected officials to university leaders \u2014 and has become a political conundrum for Republicans across the nation.<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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