Preceded by John J. Carona Name Don Huffines | Children Five Children | |
 | ||
Spouse(s) Mary Catherine Huffines Alma mater University of Texas at Austin Education University of Texas at Austin Profiles | ||
Don huffines rally
Donald Blaine Huffines, known as Don Huffines (born 1958), is a Republican who represents District 16 in the Texas Senate.
Contents
- Don huffines rally
- Don and Phillip Huffines on what it means to be twins
- Background
- 2014 Texas State Senate District 16 campaign
- Political activities
- References
Don and Phillip Huffines on what it means to be twins
Background
Huffines is a fifth generation Texan, born in Greenville in Hunt County. He has two older brothers, James and Ray, and an identical twin brother, Phillip, with whom he operates Huffines Communities, a large real-estate development company in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Don Huffines' grandfather, James Lecil "J.L." Huffines, started the Huffines Motor Company in Denton, Texas, in 1924 which has grown into a large network of metroplex dealerships and is currently run by Ray Huffines.
2014 Texas State Senate District 16 campaign
The district encompasses a part of Dallas County, Texas. Huffines unseated Senator John J. Carona by a narrow margin in the Republican primary election held on March 4, 2014. A combined $6.3 million was spent by both candidates in the critical primary race.
In the November 4 general election, Huffines's Libertarian challenger, Mike Dooling, dropped out of the race, and Huffines hence ran unopposed. Huffines campaigned on the themes of term limits, school choice, funding highway construction, opposing new toll roads, and cutting taxes.
Political activities
In 2017, Senator Huffines introduced legislation to require a 30 percent voter turnout for any bond election in Texas to be successful. Most such elections currently draw fewer than 10 percent of voters to the polls. The San Antonio Express-News claims that were Huffines' bill to become law, the result would be "effectively putting most taxing entities out of the bond business. The consequences could be devastating for cash-strapped school districts in need of new facilities."
