2026 Texas Attorney General election

For related races, see 2026 United States attorney general elections.

2026 Texas Attorney General election

←  2022 November 3, 2026 2030 →

Party Republican Democratic

Incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton Republican

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]

Publicly expressed interest

• Matt Rinaldi, former chair of the Texas Republican Party (2021–2024) and former state representative from the 115th district (2015–2019) ^[6]

Potential

• Brandon Creighton, president pro tempore of the Texas Senate (2025–present) from the 4th district (2014–present) ^[7]
• Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present) and candidate for Texas's 6th congressional district in 2021 ^[8]
• Mitch Little, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) ^{[8] [7]}

Withdrawn

• John Bash, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas (2017–2020) ^[9]

Declined

• Bryan Hughes, state senator from the 1st district (2017–present) ^[10]
• Ken Paxton, incumbent attorney general (running for U.S. Senate, endorsed Reitz) ^{[11] [12]}

Endorsements

Aaron Reitz

Statewide officials

• Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General (2015–present) ^[12]

Chip Roy

U.S. senators

• Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas (2013–present) ^[12]
• Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah (2011–present) ^[12]

U.S. representatives

• Lauren Boebert, U.S. representative from Colorado's 4th congressional district (2021–present) ^[12]
• Byron Donalds, U.S. representative from Florida's 19th congressional district (2021–present) ^[12]
• Keith Self, U.S. representative from Texas's 3rd congressional district (2023–present) ^[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Joan Huffman	Mayes Middleton	Aaron Reitz	Undecided
Texas Southern University [13]	August 6–12, 2025	1,500 (LV)	± 2.5%	12%	8%	7%	73%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston and candidate for attorney general in 2022 ^[14]
• Nathan Johnson, state senator from the 16th district (2019–present) ^[15]

Potential

• Joaquin Castro, U.S. representative from Texas's 20th congressional district (2013–present) ^[16]
• Roland Gutierrez, state senator from the 19th district (2021–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024 ^[17]
• Justin Nelson, partner at Susman Godfrey and nominee for attorney general in 2018 ^[17]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Joe Jaworski	Nathan Johnson	Undecided
Texas Southern University [13]	August 6–12, 2025	1,500 (LV)	± 2.5%	20%	20%	60%

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

See also

• 2026 United States attorney general elections

References

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Scherer, Jasper (April 15, 2025). "Sen. Mayes Middleton announces bid for Texas attorney general". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved April 15, 2025.
4. 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.
5. Manchester, Julia (August 21, 2025). "Chip Roy launches Texas attorney general bid". The Hill . Retrieved August 21, 2025.
6. Bugenhagen, Faith (April 9, 2025). "If Ken Paxton wins Senate race, who could become Texas attorney general?". Chron.com . Retrieved April 11, 2025.
7. "pluribus a.m." Pluribus News . Retrieved April 16, 2025. Candidates mentioned as possible contenders for Paxton's job: Sens. Brandon Creighton (R) and Bryan Hughes (R), both frequently mentioned in this newsletter, as well as state Rep. Mitch Little (R) and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R).
8. Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (April 10, 2025). "Ken Paxton's departure creates competitive AG primary in 2026". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
9. Runnels, Ayden (April 30, 2025). "John Bash, first candidate to enter Texas attorney general's race, exits". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved May 1, 2025.
10. Richardson, Michael (June 10, 2025). "Sen. Bryan Hughes says he won't run for attorney general". KLTV . Retrieved June 12, 2025.
11. 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.
12. Birenbaum, Gabbie (August 25, 2025). "Cruz, Paxton issue dueling endorsements in Texas attorney general GOP primary". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
13. Adams, Michael; Jones, Mark (August 20, 2025). "The 2026 Down-Ballot Texas Republican & Democratic Primaries: Attorney General, Comptroller, & Agriculture Commissioner" . Retrieved August 21, 2025.
14. Klibanoff, Eleanor (July 17, 2025). "Democrat Joe Jaworski to run for Texas attorney general again". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved July 17, 2025.
15. Klibanoff, Eleanor (July 15, 2025). "Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson announces run for attorney general". The Texas Tribune . Retrieved July 15, 2025.
16. Bradner, Eric; Ferris, Sarah (July 29, 2025). "Democrats got a top Senate recruit in North Carolina. Now they're trying to find more". CNN . Retrieved July 30, 2025.
17. McCardel, Justin (April 20, 2025). "Democratic consultant says party will field strong candidates in 2026, names several". WFAA . Retrieved April 20, 2025.

External links

Official campaign websites

• Joan Huffman (R) for Attorney General
• Joe Jaworski (D) for Attorney General
• Nathan Johnson (D) for Attorney General
• Mayes Middleton (R) for Attorney General
• Aaron Reitz (R) for Attorney General
• Chip Roy (R) for Attorney General