2026 Texas Attorney General election
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November 3, 2026
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| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
The 2026 Texas Attorney General election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the Attorney General of Texas. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is eligible to run for re-election to a fourth term in office, but is instead running for U.S. Senate against incumbent John Cornyn.[1]
Republican primary
Candidates
Declared
- Joan Huffman, state senator from the 17th district (2008–present)[2]
- Mayes Middleton, state senator from the 11th district (2023–present)[3]
- Aaron Reitz, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (2025)[4]
- Chip Roy, U.S. representative from Texas's 21st congressional district (2019–present)[5]
Withdrawn
- John Bash, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas (2017–2020)[6]
Declined
- Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present) and candidate for Texas's 6th congressional district in 2021[7] (running for re-election)[8]
- Bryan Hughes, state senator from the 1st district (2017–present)[9]
- Eric Johnson, mayor of Dallas (2019–present)[10]
- Mitch Little, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) (running for re-election)[11]
- Ken Paxton, incumbent attorney general (running for U.S. Senate, endorsed Reitz)[12][13]
- Matt Rinaldi, former chair of the Texas Republican Party (2021–2024) and former state representative from the 115th district (2015–2019)[14]
Endorsements
Joan Huffman
Mayes Middleton
- U.S. representatives
- Brian Babin, TX-36 (2015–present)[20]
- Lance Gooden, TX-05 (2019–present)[20]
- Randy Weber, TX-14 (2013–present)[20]
- State legislators
- Brent Hagenbuch, state senator from the 30th district (2025–present)[21]
- Adam Hinojosa, state senator from the 27th district (2025–present)[21]
- Briscoe Cain, state representative from the 128th district (2017–present)[21]
- Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present)[21]
- Individuals
- Riley Gaines, conservative activist[22]
- Organizations
- Young Conservatives of Texas (co-endorsement with Roy)[23]
Aaron Reitz
- Statewide officials
- Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas (2015–present)[13]
- Labor unions
- Organizations
Chip Roy
- Executive branch officials
- Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff (2020–2021)[21]
- U.S. senators
- U.S. representatives
- Lauren Boebert, CO-04 (2021–present)[13]
- Michael Cloud, TX-27 (2018–present)[21]
- Byron Donalds, FL-19 (2021–present)[13]
- Matt Gaetz, former FL-01 (2017–2024)[21]
- Ronny Jackson, TX-13 (2021–present)[21]
- Keith Self, TX-03 (2023–present)[13]
- Pete Sessions, TX-17 (2021–present)[21]
- Beth Van Duyne, TX-24 (2021–present)[21]
- Organizations
- Gun Owners of Texas[26]
- Students for Life of America[27]
- Young Conservatives of Texas (co-endorsement with Middleton)[23]
- Newspapers
Fundraising
| Campaign finance Reports as of December 31, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Joan Huffman (R) | $512,017 | $865,632 | $2,718,093 |
| Mayes Middleton (R) | $11,819,827 | $7,133,607 | $5,098,210 |
| Aaron Reitz (R) | $1,658,444 | $1,045,705 | $2,953,221 |
| Chip Roy (R) | $4,500,000 | $1,224,264 | $4,272,044 |
| Source: Texas Ethics Commission[29] | |||
Debates and forums
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Huffman | Middleton | Reitz | Roy | ||||||
| 1[30] | February 17, 2026 | Republican Attorneys General Association | Allie Beth Stuckey | I | I | I | I | ||
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Joan Huffman |
Mayes Middleton |
Aaron Reitz |
Chip Roy |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Houston/YouGov[31] | January 20–31, 2026 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 13% | 23% | 6% | 33% | 25% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[32][A] | December 14–17, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 10% | 9% | 6% | 49% | 26% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[33][A] | November 2–5, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 13% | 13% | 7% | 40% | 27% |
| University of Houston/ Texas Southern University[34] |
September 19 – October 1, 2025 | 576 (RV) | ± 4.1% | 12% | 3% | 8% | 40% | 37% |
| co/efficient (R)[35][B] | August 27–30, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 8% | 4% | 7% | 24% | 58% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[36][A] | August 27–30, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 38% | 50% |
| Texas Southern University[37] | August 6–12, 2025 | 1,500 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 12% | 8% | 7% | – | 73% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joan Huffman | |||
| Republican | Mayes Middleton | |||
| Republican | Aaron Reitz | |||
| Republican | Chip Roy | |||
| Total votes | 100.00 | |||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Declared
- Tony Box, attorney[38]
- Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston, grandson of former U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Leon Jaworski, and candidate for attorney general in 2022[39]
- Nathan Johnson, state senator from the 16th district (2019–present)[40]
Declined
- Joaquin Castro, U.S. representative from Texas's 20th congressional district (2013–present)[41] (running for re-election)
- Jasmine Crockett, U.S. representative from Texas’s 30th congressional district (2023–present)[42] (running for U.S. Senate)
- Roland Gutierrez, state senator from the 19th district (2021–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 (running for re-election)[43]
- Justin Nelson, partner at Susman Godfrey and nominee for attorney general in 2018[44]
Endorsements
Tony Box
Joe Jaworski
- State legislators
- Gene Wu, minority leader of the Texas House of Representatives (2025–present) from the 137th district (2017–present)[48]
- Ann Johnson, state representative from the 134th district (2021–present)[48]
- Ron Reynolds, state representative from the 27th district (2011–present)[48]
- Jon Rosenthal, state representative from the 135th district (2019–present)[48]
Nathan Johnson
- U.S. representatives
- Julie Johnson, TX-32 (2025–present)[48]
- Marc Veasey, TX-33 (2013–present)[48]
- State legislator
- Sarah Eckhardt, state senator from the 14th district (2020–present)[48]
- Borris Miles, state senator from the 13th district (2016–present)[48]
- Royce West, state senator from the 23rd district (1993–present)[48]
- José Menéndez, state senator from the 26th district (2015–present)[48]
- Rodney Ellis, Harris County Comissioner (2017–present) and former state senator from the 13th district (1990–2017)[48]
- Local officials
- John Creuzot, Dallas County District Attorney (2019–present)[48]
- Labor unions
- Organizations
- Newspapers
Fundraising
| Campaign finance Reports as of December 31, 2025 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand |
| Tony Box (D) | $137,602 | $87,897 | $27,548 |
| Joe Jaworski (D) | $219,882 | $166,693 | $249,986 |
| Nathan Johnson (D) | $652,819 | $349,080 | $757,681 |
| Source: Texas Ethics Commission[29] | |||
Debates and forums
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Box | Jaworski | Johnson | |||||||
| 1[55] | January 22, 2026 | Richardson Area Democrats | James Barragan | YouTube | A | P | P | ||
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Tony Box |
Joe Jaworski |
Nathan Johnson |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Houston/YouGov[31] | January 20–31, 2026 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 13% | 22% | 25% | – | 40% |
| Slingshot Strategies (D)[56][C] | January 14–21, 2026 | 1,290 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 2% | 5% | 10% | 5%[b] | 78% |
| Texas Southern University[57] | December 9–11, 2025 | 1,600 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 3% | 21% | 19% | – | 57% |
| Texas Southern University[37] | August 6–12, 2025 | 1,500 (LV) | ± 2.5% | – | 20% | 20% | – | 60% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Anthony "Tony" Box | |||
| Democratic | Joe Jaworski | |||
| Democratic | Nathan Johnson | |||
| Total votes | 100.00 | |||
Third-party and independent candidates
Candidates
Declared
- Tom Oxford (Libertarian), attorney and perennial candidate[58]
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[59] | Safe R | August 21, 2025 |
Polling
Hypothetical polling
Notes
- Partisan clients
See also
References
- ^ Jeffers, Gromer (November 29, 2024). "John Cornyn and Ken Paxton have been trading jabs as a potential primary showdown looms". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
- ^ Guo, Kayla (June 23, 2025). "Sen. Joan Huffman joins GOP field vying to succeed Ken Paxton as Texas attorney general". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 23, 2025.
- ^ Scherer, Jasper (April 15, 2025). "Sen. Mayes Middleton announces bid for Texas attorney general". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
- ^ Goldenstein, Taylor (June 12, 2025). "Aaron Reitz, a former Trump DOJ official and Paxton aide, joins the race for Texas AG". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Manchester, Julia (August 21, 2025). "Chip Roy launches Texas attorney general bid". The Hill. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ Runnels, Ayden (April 30, 2025). "John Bash, first candidate to enter Texas attorney general's race, exits". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
- ^ Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (April 10, 2025). "Ken Paxton's departure creates competitive AG primary in 2026". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 10, 2025.
- ^ "Harrison announces for reelection to Texas House". In the Know Ellis. November 16, 2025. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ Richardson, Michael (June 10, 2025). "Sen. Bryan Hughes says he won't run for attorney general". KLTV. Retrieved June 12, 2025.
- ^ Nir, David (October 17, 2025). "Morning Digest: New GOP plan to save gerrymander might be 'most embarrassing election lawsuit of 2025'". Retrieved October 17, 2025.
- ^ "Little seeks second term, rules out Attorney General run". September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 24, 2025.
- ^ Scherer, Jasper (April 8, 2025). "Texas AG Ken Paxton officially joins U.S. Senate race challenging John Cornyn". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Birenbaum, Gabbie (August 25, 2025). "Cruz, Paxton issue dueling endorsements in Texas attorney general GOP primary". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
- ^ Bugenhagen, Faith (April 9, 2025). "If Ken Paxton wins Senate race, who could become Texas attorney general?". Chron.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
- ^ "CLEAT Political Action Committee". CLEAT. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^ "Huffman is the seasoned, serious choice for GOP attorney general". Austin American-Statesman. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
- ^ "We recommend in the Republican primary for Texas Attorney General". Dallas Morning News. February 1, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
- ^ "Joan Huffman is the Republican candidate for Attorney General who gets things done". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
- ^ "Joan Huffman a solid choice in GOP primary for Texas attorney general". San Antonio Express-News. January 30, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e "Attorney General election endorsements". Ballotpedia. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "On the issues: Q&A with the Republicans running for Texas attorney general". January 29, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ^ "Meet all four Republican candidates running for Texas Attorney General". CBS News. December 28, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ^ a b Darsch, Nathan (November 13, 2025). "YCT Announces Dual Endorsement of Senator Mayes Middleton and Congressman Chip Roy for Texas Attorney General - Young Conservatives of TexasYoung Conservatives of Texas". Young Conservatives of Texas. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ^ "Endorsements by Conservative Political Action Coalition". Ballotpedia.
- ^ "Republicans for National Renewal Endorses Aaron Reitz for Texas Attorney General". Republicans for National Renewal. July 20, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ "2026 GOA Texas Endorsements". GOA Texas. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ^ Horlander, Mary Kate (February 16, 2026). "Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins Announces Endorsement of U.S. Rep. Chip Roy for Texas Attorney General". SFL Action. Retrieved February 20, 2026.
- ^ "Star-Telegram endorsement: Which GOP heavyweight is right for attorney general?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ^ a b "TEC Simple Search Campaign Finance". www.ethics.state.tx.us. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ^ "RAGA to Host Texas Attorney General Debate on February 17th". republicanags.com. Republican Attorneys General Association. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
- ^ a b "Texas Primaries 2026" (PDF). University of Houston. February 11, 2026. Retrieved February 11, 2026.
- ^ Hansen, Holly (January 21, 2026). "In: Internal polling on #Texas Attorney General GOP candidates from @chiproytx conducted Dec. 14-17. Roy: 49% (includes "definitely" "probably" and "lean" responses) Huffman: 10% Middleton: 9% Reitz: 6% 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff". Twitter. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
- ^ Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (November 20, 2025). "Morning Digest: Georgia Democrats could flip this red seat in a December special election". The Downballot. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Texas Trends 2025 – Election 2026". University of Houston & Texas Southern University. October 9, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
- ^ Johnson, Brad [@bradj_TX] (September 17, 2025). "More internal polling from the #txlege AG race, @aaron_reitz camp memo showed the race w/ @KenPaxtonTX backing Reitz: Reitz-30% (7% initial ballot test) Roy-13% (24%) Huffman-6% (8%) Middleton-3% (4%) Undecided-48% (58%) Methodology: 8/16-17, 473 LV Rs, 4.51% MOE" (Tweet). Retrieved September 21, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ Johnson, Brad [@bradj_TX] (September 16, 2025). "New--Internal polling from the Roy camp puts an initial ballot test in the AG race at: @chiproytx -38% (+40 fav/unfav) @joanhuffman -4% (+8) @mayes_middleton -4% (+7) @aaron_reitz -3% (+5) undecided-50% #txlege" (Tweet). Retrieved September 21, 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b Adams, Michael O.; Jones, Mark P. (August 20, 2025). "The 2026 Down-Ballot Texas Republican & Democratic Primaries: Attorney General, Comptroller, & Agriculture Commissioner". Texas Southern University. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
- ^ Jeffers Jr., Gromer (October 30, 2025). "Dallas lawyer Tony Box launches campaign to replace Ken Paxton as Texas attorney general". Dallas News. Retrieved October 31, 2025.
- ^ Klibanoff, Eleanor (July 17, 2025). "Democrat Joe Jaworski to run for Texas attorney general again". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
- ^ Klibanoff, Eleanor (July 15, 2025). "Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson announces run for attorney general". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 15, 2025.
- ^ Davies, David Martin (November 11, 2025). "Rep. Castro is a 'no' vote on funding federal government and shares his plans for political office". Texas Public Radio. Retrieved November 11, 2025.
- ^ Wermund, Benjamin (September 18, 2025). "Why Texas Democrats aren't lining up to take on Greg Abbott in the midterms". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
- ^ "Political Roundup for September 10, 2025". September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
- ^ McCardel, Justin (April 20, 2025). "Democratic consultant says party will field strong candidates in 2026, names several". WFAA. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
- ^ "Anthony Box". VoteVets. Retrieved November 7, 2025.
- ^ "Box offers Democrats' best path to restore trust in AG's office". Austin American-Statesman. February 5, 2026. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
- ^ "Tony Box gets our recommendation in Democratic primary for attorney general". San Antonio Express-News. January 30, 2026. Retrieved February 1, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "On the issues: Q&A with the Democrats running for Texas attorney general". January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ^ "Texas AFL-CIO COPE Announces 2026 Primary Election Endorsements". Texas AFL-CIO. January 25, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
- ^ "Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus Announces 44 Endorsements for March Primary". OutSmart. January 19, 2026. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
- ^ "We recommend in the Democratic primary for Texas attorney general". Dallas Morning News. February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
- ^ "Star-Telegram endorsement: A Democrat who can compete in attorney general race". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ^ "Nathan Johnson is our choice for Democratic AG nominee". Houston Chronicle. February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
- ^ "March 2026 Primary Election Endorsements for the Austin Area • The Austin Chronicle". The Austin Chronicle. February 12, 2026. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- ^ "Democratic Texas AG candidates debate ahead of March Primaries". spectrumlocalnews.com. Spectrum News 1. January 22, 2026. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "They all want to win: New poll shows how Democratic primary voters are weighing electability and turnout in the Texas Senate race". Texas Public Opinion Research. January 29, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
- ^ Adams, Michael O.; Jones, Mark P. (December 2025). "The 2026 Texas Democratic Primaries: Governor & Attorney General" (PDF). Texas Southern University. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Noah. "9 Libertarians vie for state seats in November election". seguingazette.com. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
- ^ "State Attorneys General: The Top Races to be "Top Cop"". Sabato's Crystal Ball. August 21, 2025. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
- ^ "Texas Senate Primaries Take Shape as Statewide Races Stay Close". Texas Public Opinion Research. September 12, 2025. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
External links
Official campaign websites