2026 Texas Attorney General election
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November 3, 2026
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| Elections in Texas |
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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 declined to seek re-election to a fourth term, and is instead running for the U.S. senate against incumbent John Cornyn.[1] The primary election was held on March 3 and there will be a Runoff Primary on May 26.
Candidates
Advanced to runoff
- Mayes Middleton, state senator from the 11th district (2023–present)[2]
- Chip Roy, U.S. representative from Texas's 21st congressional district (2019–present)[3]
Eliminated in primary
- Joan Huffman, state senator from the 17th district (2008–present)[4]
- Aaron Reitz, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (2025)[5] (endorsed Middleton in the runoff)[6]
Withdrawn
- John Bash, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas (2017–2020)[7]
Declined
- Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present) and candidate for Texas's 6th congressional district in 2021[8] (running for re-election)[9]
- Bryan Hughes, state senator from the 1st district (2017–present)[10]
- Eric Johnson, mayor of Dallas (2019–present)[11]
- Mitch Little, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present) (running for re-election)[12]
- Ken Paxton, incumbent attorney general (running for U.S. Senate, endorsed Reitz)[13][14]
- Matt Rinaldi, former chair of the Texas Republican Party (2021–2024) and former state representative from the 115th district (2015–2019)[15]
Endorsements
Mayes Middleton
- U.S. representatives
- Brian Babin, TX-36 (2015–present)[16]
- Lance Gooden, TX-05 (2019–present)[16]
- Randy Weber, TX-14 (2013–present)[16]
- State legislators
- Brent Hagenbuch, state senator from the 30th district (2025–present)[17]
- Adam Hinojosa, state senator from the 27th district (2025–present)[17]
- Briscoe Cain, state representative from the 128th district (2017–present)[17]
- Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present)[17]
- Individuals
- Riley Gaines, conservative activist[18]
- Aaron Reitz, former U.S. Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy (2025), former candidate[19]
- Organizations
- Young Conservatives of Texas (co-endorsement with Roy)[20]
Chip Roy
- Executive branch officials
- Mark Meadows, former White House Chief of Staff (2020–2021)[17]
- U.S. senators
- U.S. representatives
- Jodey Arrington, TX-19 (2017–present)[21]
- Lauren Boebert, CO-04 (2021–present)[14]
- Michael Cloud, TX-27 (2018–present)[17]
- Byron Donalds, FL-19 (2021–present)[14]
- Matt Gaetz, former FL-01 (2017–2024)[17]
- Ronny Jackson, TX-13 (2021–present)[17]
- Keith Self, TX-03 (2023–present)[14]
- Pete Sessions, TX-17 (2021–present)[17]
- Beth Van Duyne, TX-24 (2021–present)[17]
- Organizations
- Gun Owners of Texas[22]
- Students for Life of America[23]
- Young Conservatives of Texas (co-endorsement with Middleton)[20]
- Newspapers
Aaron Reitz (eliminated in primary)
- Statewide officials
- Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas (2015–present)[14]
- Labor unions
- Organizations
Joan Huffman (eliminated in primary)
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[32] | |||
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[33] | February 17, 2026 | Republican Attorneys General Association | Allie Beth Stuckey | WFAA | P | P | P | P | |
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Joan Huffman |
Mayes Middleton |
Aaron Reitz |
Chip Roy |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blueprint Polling (D)[34] | February 23–24, 2026 | 529 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 11% | 26% | 11% | 30% | 3%[b] | 19% |
| UT Tyler[35] | February 13–22, 2026 | – (LV) | – | 21% | 26% | 9% | 36% | – | 8% |
| – (RV) | 21% | 27% | 10% | 34% | – | ||||
| University of Texas/ Texas Politics Project[36] |
February 2–16, 2026 | 292 (LV) | ± 5.7% | 9% | 38% | 5% | 40% | 8%[c] | – |
| University of Houston/YouGov[37] | January 20–31, 2026 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 13% | 23% | 6% | 33% | – | 25% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[38][A] | December 14–17, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 10% | 9% | 6% | 49% | – | 26% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[39][A] | November 2–5, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 13% | 13% | 7% | 40% | – | 27% |
| University of Houston/ Texas Southern University[40] |
September 19 – October 1, 2025 | 576 (RV) | ± 4.1% | 12% | 3% | 8% | 40% | – | 37% |
| co/efficient (R)[41][B] | August 27–30, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 8% | 4% | 7% | 24% | – | 58% |
| Pulse Decision Science (R)[42][A] | August 27–30, 2025 | 800 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 38% | – | 50% |
| Texas Southern University[43] | August 6–12, 2025 | 1,500 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 12% | 8% | 7% | – | – | 73% |
Middleton
- 20–30%30–40%40–50%50–60%60–70%70–80%
Roy
- 20–30%30–40%40–50%50–60%70–80%
Huffman
- 30–40%
Reitz
- 20–30%
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mayes Middleton | 811,171 | 39.1 | |
| Republican | Chip Roy | 655,064 | 31.6 | |
| Republican | Joan Huffman | 312,998 | 15.1 | |
| Republican | Aaron Reitz | 293,698 | 14.2 | |
| Total votes | 2,072,931 | 100.0 | ||
Democratic primary
Candidates
Advanced to runoff
- 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[44]
- Nathan Johnson, state senator from the 16th district (2019–present)[45]
Eliminated in primary
- Tony Box, attorney[46]
Declined
- Joaquin Castro, U.S. representative from Texas's 20th congressional district (2013–present)[47] (running for re-election)
- Jasmine Crockett, U.S. representative from Texas’s 30th congressional district (2023–present)[48] (ran 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)[49]
- Justin Nelson, partner at Susman Godfrey and nominee for attorney general in 2018[50]
Endorsements
Joe Jaworski
- State legislators
- Gene Wu, minority leader of the Texas House of Representatives (2025–present) from the 137th district (2017–present)[51]
- Ann Johnson, state representative from the 134th district (2021–present)[51]
- Ron Reynolds, state representative from the 27th district (2011–present)[51]
- Jon Rosenthal, state representative from the 135th district (2019–present) and Texas Railroad Commission nominee [51]
- Organizations
- Texas Young Democrats[52]
Nathan Johnson
- U.S. representatives
- Julie Johnson, TX-32 (2025–present)[51]
- Marc Veasey, TX-33 (2013–present)[51]
- State legislator
- Sarah Eckhardt, state senator from the 14th district (2020–present) and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts nominee [51]
- Borris Miles, state senator from the 13th district (2016–present)[51]
- Royce West, state senator from the 23rd district (1993–present)[51]
- José Menéndez, state senator from the 26th district (2015–present)[51]
- Rodney Ellis, Harris County Comissioner (2017–present) and former state senator from the 13th district (1990–2017)[51]
- Local officials
- John Creuzot, Dallas County District Attorney (2019–present)[51]
- Labor unions
- Organizations
- Newspapers
Tony Box (eliminated in primary)
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[32] | |||
Debates and forums
| No. | Date | Host | Moderator | Link | Participants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P Participant A Absent N Non-invitee I Invitee W Withdrawn | |||||||||
| Box | Jaworski | Johnson | |||||||
| 1[62] | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UT Tyler[35] | February 13–22, 2026 | – (LV) | – | 25% | 32% | 35% | – | 8% |
| – (RV) | 26% | 31% | 34% | – | 9% | |||
| University of Texas/ Texas Politics Project[36] |
February 2–16, 2026 | 183 (LV) | ± 7.2% | 10% | 52% | 28% | 11%[d] | – |
| University of Houston/YouGov[37] | January 20–31, 2026 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.2% | 13% | 22% | 25% | – | 40% |
| Slingshot Strategies (D)[63][C] | January 14–21, 2026 | 1,290 (LV) | ± 3.7% | 2% | 5% | 10% | 5%[e] | 78% |
| Texas Southern University[64] | December 9–11, 2025 | 1,600 (LV) | ± 2.5% | 3% | 21% | 19% | – | 57% |
| Texas Southern University[43] | August 6–12, 2025 | 1,500 (LV) | ± 2.5% | – | 20% | 20% | – | 60% |
Johnson
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
- 60–70%
- >90%
Jaworski
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
Box
- 30–40%
- 40–50%
- 50–60%
Tie
- Tie
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Nathan Johnson | 1,003,967 | 48.1 | |
| Democratic | Joe Jaworski | 551,898 | 26.4 | |
| Democratic | Anthony "Tony" Box | 531,177 | 25.5 | |
| Total votes | 2,087,042 | 100.00 | ||
Third-party and independent candidates
General election
Predictions
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[66] | Safe R | August 21, 2025 |
Polling
Hypothetical polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Mayes Middleton or Chip Roy (R) |
Joe Jaworski or Nathan Johnson (D) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slingshot Strategies (D)[67][C] | April 17–20, 2026 | 1,018 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 45% | 39% | 2%[f] | 15% |
Generic Republican vs. generic Democrat
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
Generic Republican |
Generic Democrat |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Public Opinion Research[68] | August 27–29, 2025 | 843 (RV) | ± 4.6% | 47% | 44% | 9%[g] | – |