2026 Texas Attorney General election

2026 Texas Attorney General election
	November 3, 2026
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]

Publicly expressed interest

Matt Rinaldi, former chair of the Texas Republican Party (2021–2024) and former state representative from the 115th district (2015–2019)^[5]

Potential

Brandon Creighton, president pro tempore of the Texas Senate (2025–present) from the 4th district (2014–present)^[6]
Brian Harrison, state representative from the 10th district (2021–present) and candidate for Texas's 6th congressional district in 2021^[7]
Mitch Little, state representative from the 65th district (2025–present)^[7]^[6]
Chip Roy, U.S. representative from Texas's 21st congressional district (2019–present)^[6]

Withdrawn

John Bash, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas (2017–2020)^[8]

Declined

Bryan Hughes, state senator from the 1st district (2017–present)^[9]
Ken Paxton, incumbent attorney general (running for U.S. Senate)^[10]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

Joe Jaworski, former mayor of Galveston and candidate for attorney general in 2022^[11]

Potential

Roland Gutierrez, state senator from the 19th district (2021–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2024^[12]
Nathan Johnson, state senator from the 16th district (2019–present)^[13]
Justin Nelson, partner at Susman Godfrey and nominee for attorney general in 2018^[12]

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.
^ Bugenhagen, Faith (April 9, 2025). "If Ken Paxton wins Senate race, who could become Texas attorney general?". Chron.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.
^ ^a ^b ^c "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).
^ ^a ^b Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (April 10, 2025). "Ken Paxton's departure creates competitive AG primary in 2026". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 10, 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.
^ Richardson, Michael (June 10, 2025). "Sen. Bryan Hughes says he won't run for attorney general". KLTV. Retrieved June 12, 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.
^ Moritz, John (April 16, 2025). "Now that Paxton is running for US Senate, who will run for open Texas attorney general seat?". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.
^ ^a ^b McCardel, Justin (April 20, 2025). "Democratic consultant says party will field strong candidates in 2026, names several". WFAA. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
^ Wu, Nicholas (June 8, 2025). "Texas Democrats see an opening as Paxton surges. But first they need a candidate". Politico. Retrieved June 9, 2025.

External links

Official campaign websites

[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] Bugenhagen, Faith (April 9, 2025). "If Ken Paxton wins Senate race, who could become Texas attorney general?". Chron.com. Retrieved April 11, 2025.

[contenders-6] "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).

[Dallas-7] Jeffers, Gromer Jr. (April 10, 2025). "Ken Paxton's departure creates competitive AG primary in 2026". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved April 10, 2025.

[8] Runnels, Ayden (April 30, 2025). "John Bash, first candidate to enter Texas attorney general's race, exits". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 1, 2025.

[9] Richardson, Michael (June 10, 2025). "Sen. Bryan Hughes says he won't run for attorney general". KLTV. Retrieved June 12, 2025.

[10] 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.

[11] Moritz, John (April 16, 2025). "Now that Paxton is running for US Senate, who will run for open Texas attorney general seat?". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on April 16, 2025. Retrieved April 21, 2025.

[:0-12] McCardel, Justin (April 20, 2025). "Democratic consultant says party will field strong candidates in 2026, names several". WFAA. Retrieved April 20, 2025.

[13] Wu, Nicholas (June 8, 2025). "Texas Democrats see an opening as Paxton surges. But first they need a candidate". Politico. Retrieved June 9, 2025.

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Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Withdrawn

Declined

Democratic primary

Candidates

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

See also

References

External links