State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, a Democrat, is running for Texas comptroller of public accounts in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. She faces Don Huffines, a Republican; Shehla Faizi, a Green Party candidate; and V. Alonzo Echevarria-Garza, a Libertarian.

Asked why she is running, Eckhardt said in our questionnaire: "Texans are paying more for gas, groceries, and housing than ever before—even as our state boasts one of the largest, strongest economies in the country. … It is time to ask hard questions so Texans get honest answers about where their tax dollars go."

She said she would "audit the $1 billion private school voucher program under this office's oversight, stand up for our public schools, stop no-bid contracts to wealthy donors, investigate tax breaks for data centers, and open the state budget to the public."

Candidate information

Occupation: "Attorney and public official."

Hometown: Austin, Texas.

Education: "Double Longhorn: LBJ School of Public Affairs and UT Law." She holds a juris doctor and a master's in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in theater from New York University.

Family: "I am the youngest of seven, the parent of two, and owner of a couple of fur babies."

Political background: Asked about family in government, Eckhardt said: "Among my immediate family, I am the odd-one-out in my family as the only one who pursued public office like my dad, the late Congressman Bob Eckhardt."

Party: "Lifelong Democrat, but I am running in this race to serve Texans regardless of party."

Experience and public service

Eckhardt said she has held the following offices: "Currently the state senator for District 14, comprising Austin and surrounding areas; previously, the Travis County Judge, Travis County Commissioner for Precinct 2, and Assistant County Attorney for Travis County."

Eckhardt said on her campaign website that she was the first woman elected as Travis County judge.

Asked what qualifies her, she said: "As the chief executive over Travis County, the 5th largest in the state, I cut taxes 3 times in 5 years, balanced the budget 3 times, built infrastructure on time and on budget, and oversaw a massive increase in good-paying jobs." She added that she managed more than 4,000 employees and that the comptroller's office has 3,000.

On the issues

Revenue estimate: The comptroller's biennial revenue estimate sets how much the Legislature can spend. Eckhardt said the process "requires steadiness and maturity to ensure that the Legislature's ultimate budget is fiscally sound. This is not an opportunity to inject political grandstanding."

Education savings accounts: Eckhardt said she did not vote for the voucher program as a state senator but that "as Comptroller my responsibility is well laid out in the law." She said she would "very carefully and aggressively manage the program to ensure that contractors are complying with their obligations to the state" and would report "which schools participate, which do not, and what parts of the state have few to no options for utilizing vouchers."

Property taxes: Asked about proposals to eliminate school district property taxes, Eckhardt said: "Texans should not pay more taxes than necessary to fund statutory state services." She called the strategy of using surpluses to compress school property taxes "ill-advised," saying it "relies on temporary budget surpluses" and that "assuming these boom conditions will last indefinitely is fiscally reckless." She added that these policies "ignore other struggling groups—such as young homeowners, businesses, and particularly renters, who receive zero relief under current state proposals."

Tax exemptions: Eckhardt said she would "analyze all of the tax exemptions and submit a report to the Legislature on their effectiveness." She said many exemptions "are just handouts to wealthy corporations that do not need the incentive," citing AI data centers.

Differences from opponents: Eckhardt said: "I've answered to Texas taxpayers for more than twenty years, working my way up from being a family violence prosecutor to serving as the state senator over our state's Capitol."

Eckhardt's responses come from the Murphy-Wylie-Sachse Courier candidate questionnaire and her campaign website. The general election includes four candidates for Texas comptroller of public accounts.