Don Huffines, the far-right, Trump-endorsed candidate for Texas comptroller who says he wants to “DOGE Texas government,” won on Tuesday despite criticism of his ownership of deceased sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein’s former ranch in New Mexico.
His victory tees up a general election race against Texas Democratic state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt.
Last month, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Huffines’ family was now the owner of a ranch that Epstein had fashioned into a hub for his eugenics-style plan to “seed” the human race with his DNA. The purchase of the property at public auction took place in 2023, four years after Epstein died by suicide while he was being held for trial. A spokesperson for the family told The Texas Tribune that they never looked at the property before buying it.
The ranch, which Epstein called Zorro Ranch, is the subject of fresh investigations by New Mexico lawmakers and the state’s Department of Justice over an unverified allegation that surfaced in the most recent release of the Epstein files — that Epstein had two girls buried near the property. There’s no evidence to suggest Huffines has any other connection to Epstein.
Amid questions about his ownership of the ranch, some of which came from fellow conservatives, Huffines told scandal-plagued former congressman Matt Gaetz — another one of his endorsers — last month that his family has been planning to convert the ranch into a camp for Christians. Not all conservatives were convinced. Among the local Republican officials criticizing the purchase was a precinct chair who told The Center Square, “It’s a glaring indictment that Huffines would purchase property where girls were raped and tortured.” Nonetheless, Huffines’ explanation seems to have satisfied Republican voters in Texas, if the primary is any measure. That said, it’s certainly worth considering how conservatives might have reacted in a slightly different scenario in which, say, a rich Muslim man had purchased Epstein’s former ranch and, while running for office, had announced his plans to turn it into a camp for Islamic instruction. The ongoing Epstein probes might throw a wrench into Huffines’ Christian camp plans, although they seem to have had little to no effect on his electoral ambitions (at least, thus far). Of course, there is plenty of time between now and Election Day, and I wouldn’t discount the possibility that Huffines’ critics will raise this issue more often in the months ahead.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog. 
