Hilderbran was a candidate for the Republican nomination for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to succeed the retiring Susan Combs, who is stepping down after two four-year terms. In the primary election for comptroller held on March 4, 2014, Hilderbran polled 317,731 (26 percent), a weak second position to State Senator Glenn Hegar of Katy, who led the field with 610,512 (50 percent). The two would have met in a May 27 runoff election, but Hildebran announced on March 7 that he was ending his campaign and endorsing Hegar as the Republican nominee. The two other candidates, Debra Medina of Wharton, an activist with the Tea Party movement, and former State Representative Raul Torres of Corpus Christi, trailed with 235,713 (19 percent) and 57,255 (5 percent), respectively.