February 10, 2026

By Mary Beth Gahan

State Rep. Ben Bumgarner and his wife Mindy, who are running for state offices in the March primary, are delinquent on property taxes for the second year in a row.

The Bumgarners, who live in a 6,800-square-foot house in Flower Mound, owe $38,723.10, according to the Denton County Tax Office. The amount includes a 6 percent penalty and 1 percent interest. The house is under Mindy’s maiden name, Partee.

Property taxes are due by the end of January in Texas. After the deadline, penalty and interest is accrued. In November 2024, Mindy Bumgarner paid a partial payment of $12,500 and wrote another check in late March 2025. Because the second payment was late, the Bumgarners paid penalties and interest on it.

The Bumgarners did not respond to requests for comment.

Rep. Bumgarner is up for reelection in District 63, which covers Flower Mound. Mindy Bumgarner is a candidate for State Board of Education. The board sets curriculum standards and oversees the Texas Permanent School Fund, which is an endowment for public schools and has $57 billion in assets.

North Texas Sun checked the records for every candidate running for U.S. House of Representatives District 26, as well as Denton County candidates for the Texas House of Representatives and State Board of Education to verify that they live in the district they’re looking to represent and have paid their taxes.

One candidate rents an apartment.

The addresses for two incumbents running for reelection — State Rep. Mitch Little and State Rep. Jared Patterson — returned no results on the Denton County Tax Office website.  On the appraisal district’s website, both properties had “unknown” listed as the owner. In Texas, some residents can request to keep their addressed private. Those cases are reserved for situations when safety is a concern, like domestic violence victims and judges.

In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that added elected officials to the list of those who can request address confidentiality. It was co-sponsored by several on both sides of the aisle, including State Senator Angela Paxton and State Rep. Eugene Wu.

Rep. Little said he paid his taxes before the end of the year.

When emailed about paying his taxes, Rep. Patterson wrote, “Of course I have.”

Rep. Ben Bumgarner has said repeatedly that his number one issue for running for office is to lower property taxes. Last summer, Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law three bills that were part of a property tax relief package.

Abbott is currently campaigning on a plan to eliminate school property taxes. A majority of Denton County property taxes go to school districts.