Douglas Bryan Hughes (born July 21, 1969)[1] is an American attorney and politician who is a Republican member of the Texas State Senate for District 1.

His bills on abortion, voting reform, and social media censorship prompted significant debate but were passed by both houses of the legislature and signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott.

Hughes carried the backing of Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, the presiding officer of the state senate.

[14] In the primary, Hughes won a plurality of the vote (48 percent), but fell short of a majority in a multi-candidate field.

[17][18] This was part of a broader national effort by Republicans to restrict voting rights in the wake of the 2020 elections.

[26] In 2021, Hughes authored SB3,[27] legislation intended to prohibit teaching critical race theory (CRT) in Texas public schools.

The bill has been criticized for creating confusion about what teachers can and cannot teach in the classroom regarding racism, particularly with respect to current events; supporters of the law argue that its focus is to prevent distortion of the historical record regarding the actions of white people and the Founding Fathers of the United States, but without whitewashing historical events that harmed disadvantaged racial or ethnic groups.

[28][30] In May 2023, Hughes became a central figure in the impeachment of Ken Paxton, the sitting Texas Attorney General.

In the second of twenty articles of impeachment filed on May 25, the Republican-led House General Investigating Committee found that Paxton improperly arranged for Hughes to request a legal opinion to help Paxton's friend and political donor, land developer Nate Paul, avert foreclosure sales of business properties.

[33] On September 16, 2023, Hughes voted to acquit Paxton of all sixteen of the articles of impeachment he faced in the Senate trial.

[34] Hughes, sent letters to investment giants BlackRock, State Street Global Advisors, and The Vanguard Group, along with Institutional Shareholder Services Inc on Aug. 10, requesting documentation related to the companies' decision-making involving their respective ESG practices.