Hegar Resigns Senate Seat; Dec. 6 Special Election Set

_{*Editor's note: This story has been updated to note that the special election to fill Glenn Hegar's Senate seat is set for Dec. 6.}

State Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Katy Republican who will become state comptroller in January, notified Gov. Rick Perry on Friday that he will resign his Senate Seat as of Dec. 5, paving the way for a special election to fill his seat.

Hegar won 58.4 percent of the vote on Election Day to succeed Comptroller Susan Combs. He was widely expected to resign from his seat early to allow for a special election to take place sooner, allowing his replacement to join the Legislature during next year’s legislative session. If not for his move to comptroller, Hegar’s Senate term would have lasted until 2016. A Dec. 6 special election to fill his seat was announced Friday afternoon.

“I am extremely honored, humbled, and grateful to the citizens of Texas who have elected me as their next comptroller, and I look forward to serving the taxpayers of this great state,” Hegar wrote. "I extend my deep and profound gratitude to the constituents of Senate District 18 for allowing me to be their voice in the Texas Senate for the last 8 years."

The possibility of a special election to replace Hegar has been the subject of speculation for more than a year, when it became clear Hegar planned to run for comptroller. That strategizing among those interested in replacing him intensified in March, when he won the Republican primary and became the immediate front-runner in the general election.

State Rep. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham has run the most visible campaign to replace Hegar. She announced in August her intention to run for Hegar’s seat and has since drawn several endorsements, including one from the Conservative Republicans of Texas PAC on Wednesday.

At least two other Republicans — Republicans Gary Gates of Richmond and Charles Gregory III of Simonton — have also been campaigning for Hegar’s seat in anticipation of it becoming available.