Glenn Hegar
38th Comptroller of Texas
Assumed office
January 2, 2015
GovernorRick Perry
Greg Abbott
Preceded bySusan Combs
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 18th district
In office
January 2007 – December 5, 2014
Preceded byKen Armbrister
Succeeded byLois Kolkhorst
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 28th district
In office
January 2003 – January 2007
Preceded byRobby Cook
Succeeded byJohn Zerwas
Personal details
Born
Glenn Allen Hegar Jr.

(1970-11-25) November 25, 1970 (age 53)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDara Hegar
Children3
EducationTexas A&M University (BA)
St. Mary's University, Texas (MA, JD)
University of Arkansas (LLM)
WebsiteCampaign website
Senate website
Glenn Hegar on Facebook

Glenn Allen Hegar Jr. (born November 25, 1970)[1][2] is an American attorney who serves as Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. He was a Republican member of the Texas Senate representing the 18th District, west of Houston.[3] He succeeded fellow Republican Susan Combs as comptroller on January 2, 2015.[4][5] He was elected Comptroller in the general election on November 4, 2014.[3]

Hegar gained prominence in 2022 as the gatekeeper to the Texas's $330 billion in investment assets, following a letter he sent to more than 100 of the world's largest financial firms demanding that they make clear whether they restrict business with the fossil-fuel industry. If so, they would risk getting shut out of working with the fastest-growing US state.[6]

Texas Legislature

Hegar was elected to the Texas House in 2002[1] and served in District 28.[4] He won re-election in 2004.[1]

He was elected to the Texas Senate in 2006[1] and was re-elected in 2010 and 2012.[1] Hegar resigned from the Senate on December 5, 2014, after his election as Texas Comptroller.[3]

Texas State Comptroller

2014 election

Main article: Texas elections, 2014 § Comptroller

Hegar faced three opponents for the Republican nomination for state comptroller: State Representative Harvey Hilderbran of Kerrville, Debra Medina of Wharton, an activist with the Tea Party movement, and former State Representative Raul Torres of Corpus Christi. Hegar finished with 610,512 votes (49.99 percent), but Hildebran opted to forgo a runoff election, thus giving Hegar the party's nomination.[7] Hilderbran polled 317,731 votes (26.01 percent). Debra Medina finished third with 235,713 votes (19.3 percent), and Raul Torres polled 57,255 votes (4.7 percent).[8]

Hegar, with 58.4 percent of the vote, defeated the Democratic nominee Mike Collier, a businessman from Houston, in the November 4 general election.[3][7]

2018 election

Main article: Texas elections, 2018 § Comptroller of Public Accounts

Hegar was unopposed in the 2018 Republican primary and won election to a second term in the 2018 general election.

In 2021, Hegar proposed to weaken the rules for transparency and accountability for the biggest corporate tax break program in Texas., Chapter 313.[9]

2022 election

Main article: 2022_Texas_elections § Comptroller_of_Public_Accounts

Hegar faced Mark V. Goloby in the primary but won easily, then won election to a third term in the 2022 general election by larger margins than the 2018 election.

Political positions

Hegar is a conservative, who says he seeks to defend "the values of faith, family, and freedom".[10]

Hegar opposes abortion. Texas Right to Life awarded him the "Perfectly Pro-Life Award".[11] In the 83rd Legislative Session in 2013, Hegar was the author of Texas Senate Bill 5 and introduced the bill into the Senate.[12] The Texas House passed the bill on July 10, 2013, by a 96–49 margin and sent the measure to the Texas Senate.[13] The Texas Senate passed the bill on July 13, 2013, with a bipartisan vote of nineteen to eleven.[14][15][16] The bill was signed by Governor Rick Perry on July 18, 2013.[17] The bill was a list of measures that would add and update abortion regulations in Texas. Major sections of the law were struck down in the United States Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt.

He twice denied the compensation to Dewayne Brown for wrongful conviction despite a court ruling of him being innocent.[18][19]

Election history

2022

Texas general election, 2022: Texas Comptroller
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Glenn Hegar 4,496,319 56.39 4.19
Democratic Janet T. Dudding 3,265,069 40.95 (2.45)
Libertarian V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza 212,205 2.66 (0.74)
Majority 1,231,250 15.44 5.64
Turnout 7,973,593
Republican hold
Republican primary, 2022: Texas Comptroller
Candidate Votes % ±
Glenn Hegar 1,386,782 81.69
Mark V. Goloby 310,829 18.31
Majority 1,075,953 63.38
Turnout 1,697,611

2018

Hagar was unopposed in the 2018 Texas Republican Primary election.

Texas general election, 2018: Texas Comptroller
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Glenn Hegar 4,356,562 53.2 n/a
Democratic Joi Chevalier 3,548,034 43.4 n/a
Libertarian Ben Sanders 279,676 3.4 n/a
Majority 808,528 9.8 n/a
Turnout 8,184,272
Republican hold

2014

Texas general election, 2014: Texas Comptroller
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Glenn Hegar 2,698,682 58.38 -24.78
Democratic Mike Collier 1,742,250 37.69 n/a
Libertarian Ben Sanders 136,884 2.96 -7.54
Green Deb Shafto 44,985 0.97 -5.37
Majority 956,432 20.69 -51.97
Turnout 4,622,801
Republican hold
Republican primary, 2014: Texas Comptroller
Candidate Votes % ±
Glenn Hegar 612,269 49.99
Harvey Hilderbran 318,899 26.04
Debra Medina 236,531 19.31
Raul Torres 56,937 4.65
Majority 293,370 23.96
Turnout 1,224,636

NOTE: Hildebran opted to forgo the runoff election; thus, Hegar advanced to the general election as the Republican nominee.

2010

Texas general election, 2010: Senate District 18
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Glenn Hegar 146,087 70.43 -8.49
Democratic Patricia "Pat" Olney 61,345 29.57 n/a
Majority 84,742 40.86 -16.99
Turnout 207,432
Republican hold

2006

Texas general election, 2006: Senate District 18[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Glenn Hegar 110,512 78.92 +33.80
Libertarian Roy O. Wright, II 29,511 21.08 +19.51
Majority 81,001 57.85 +49.67
Turnout 140,023 -12.60
Republican gain from Democratic
Republican primary, 2006: Senate District 18[21]
Candidate Votes % ±
Gary Gates 12,933 35.63
✓ Glenn Hegar 19,934 54.92
David Stall 3,428 9.44
Majority 7,001 19.29
Turnout 36,295

Personal life

Born to teenage parents, Hegar is a sixth-generation Texan who farms on the 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) land that has been in his family since the mid-19th century.[6] He grew up in Hockley, also in Harris County.[4] Hegar met his wife Dara while attending St. Mary's University. He with his wife Dara, and their three children live in Katy,[4] where they attend St. Peter's United Methodist Church.[1][10] Hegar highlighted his wife and children in most of his television commercials in the race for comptroller.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f State Sen. Glenn Hegar, District 18 (R-Katy), Texas Tribune
  2. ^ Office of the Secretary of State (Texas) (January 5, 2005). "Races with Candidates with Addresses Report, 2004 General Election" (PDF). Retrieved December 28, 2006.
  3. ^ a b c d Batheja, Aman. Hegar Resigns Senate Seat; Dec. 6 Special Election Set, Texas Tribune, November 14, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Taylor, Carrie. Glenn Hegar plans candidacy for state comptroller, Community Impact Newspaper, June 5, 2013.
  5. ^ Ramsey, Ross. Hegar Exploring 2014 Run for Comptroller, Texas Tribune, March 21, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Moran, Danielle (January 20, 2023). "The Man Enforcing Texas' Crackdown on Wall Street Over ESG". Bloomberg News. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Kate Alexander, "Glenn Hegar wins GOP comptroller primary after Harvey Hilderbran bows out of runoff"". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  8. ^ "Republican primary election returns, March 4, 2014". team1.sos.state.tx.us. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
  9. ^ "As Texas' $10 Billion Corporate Tax Break Program Comes to Close, State Comptroller Wants to Cover Up Its Costs". The Texas Observer. November 24, 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Senator Glenn Hegar: District 18, Texas Senate.
  11. ^ "Glenn Hegar". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  12. ^ Texas Legislature Online History SB 1, State of Texas, accessed July 14, 2013.
  13. ^ Tinsley, Anna. Texas House gives its final approval to new abortion restrictions Archived November 29, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 10, 2013
  14. ^ Schwartz, John. Texas Senate Vote Puts Bill Restricting Abortion Over Final Hurdle, New York Times, July 2013.
  15. ^ Weiner, Rachel. Texas state Senate passes abortion restrictions, Washington Post, July 13, 2013.
  16. ^ MacLaggan, Corrie. Texas passes abortion restriction bill, governor certain to sign, Reuters, July 13, 2013.
  17. ^ Luthra, Shefali. Perry Signs Abortion Bill into Law, Texas Tribune, July 18, 2013.
  18. ^ McCullough, Jolie (December 18, 2020). "Texas Supreme Court rules Alfred Dewayne Brown must be compensated for his wrongful imprisonment". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Texas Supreme Court Orders Compensation for Death-Row Exoneree Alfred Dewayne Brown
  20. ^ "2006 General Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2007.
  21. ^ "2006 Republican Party Primary Election". Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Archived from the original on January 9, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2007.

External links

Texas House of Representatives Preceded byRobby Cook Member of the Texas House of Representativesfrom the 28th district 2003–2007 Succeeded byJohn Zerwas Texas Senate Preceded byKen Armbrister Member of the Texas Senatefrom the 18th district 2007–2014 Succeeded byLois Kolkhorst Political offices Preceded bySusan Combs Comptroller of Texas 2015–present Incumbent
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