Former state Sen. Don Huffines announces he’ll challenge Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in 2022 GOP primary The Dallas businessman says Texans are “out of patience” over “open” border, high property taxes and “corrupt election procedures.” Former state Sen. Don Huffines, shown at an October 2019 event by opponents of impeaching then-President Donald Trump in Richardson, Texas, announced on Monday that he is running for governor next year.((Robert W. Hart/Special Contributor)) Updated at 4:53 p.m.: to include remarks from a Huffines speech in Collin County in February. AUSTIN — Former Texas state Sen. Don Huffines is running for governor, and from the broadsides he launched against two-term Gov. Greg Abbott’s stewardship on Monday, it’s clear the Dallas businessman will try to attack the incumbent Republican from the right.