Huffines Brothers Set to Become First Twins in the Texas Senate

With Plano representative Matt Shaheen opting to drop his bid for the Texas Senate and seek re-election in the House, the lane is clear for businessman Phillip Huffines to join his brother, Don, in the Senate chambers.

A betting man would put Phillip in that seat, so let’s do just that before going further. They’ll be the first brothers in Texas history to serve as senators at the same time. Which, obviously, also would make them the first twin senators. Don Huffines said as much in March, when his brother announced that he’d lent himself $1.5 million to run for Van Taylor’s seat. Taylor’s expected to make a go at a congressional seat, so he’s out of the way. According to the Texas Legislative Reference Library, Don Huffines is right. The closest we’ve come to that rarefied air is Ross and Doss Hardin, the former of whom served in the House from 1935 to 1941, the latter in the Senate from 1938 to 1940.

Currently, there are two sets of siblings in the Legislature: Reps. Dennis and Greg Bonnen, from Houston; and Rep. Tomas Uresti and his brother, state Sen. Carlos Uresti from San Antonio. (Which, mind you, may come to an end soon in the wake of Carlos’ indictment on fraud and bribery charges. Neither here nor there.)

Because you’ve made it this far, maybe you’d be interested in the other siblings who’ve served in the legislature at the same time. There aren’t many, according to the library.

Read more: https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2017/08/huffines-brothers-set-to-become-first-twins-in-the-texas-senate/

Both Republicans? No thanks.