A debate about the Texas attorney general’s role is likely on the horizon as two Republican state senators and a former assistant U.S. attorney with ties to President Donald Trump are vying for the position vacated by Ken Paxton, who’s been accused in recent years of government overreach.

Texas Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, entered the AG’s race last week, ensuring there will be a runoff in the Republican primary, set for March 2026. Huffman is facing fellow Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, and Aaron Reitz, a former assistant U.S. attorney who worked for Paxton and is the likely candidate for Trump’s endorsement if one is made.

Former U.S. Attorney John Bash, also a Republican, withdrew from the race about a month after announcing his intent to run, citing “shifting priorities after a family health scare.” So far, no Democrats have filed, possibly waiting until after a special legislative session that starts July 21.

Paxton, now running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate against incumbent John Cornyn, has sparked debate over whether the state AG’s office has crossed lines in recent years and should get back its core purposes: defending the state and public interests in court over matters related to consumer protection, open records, and collection of child support, said University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus.

“There will be a significant debate in this race about what the attorney general does,” the professor said. “I think that’s a healthy thing for the state because the way that the office has adapted to modern politics is something very different than what it was intended to do. I think the discussion about what an effective attorney general looks like will be part of this race.

“I’m hopeful that will be an eye-opener for a lot of people to say that the attorney general’s function should be connected to what people care about,” he added.

Early polls reflect that Paxton is strongly favored over Cornyn in the Senate primary. Paxton, who served as Texas AG since 2015, has been a controversial figure and has drawn the ire of Texans, mostly Democrats, for his aggressive approach to abortion, immigration, and LGBTQ+ rights. He pursued legal action against the Biden administration almost 50 times and sued local governments over COVID-19 restrictions.

The attorney general was charged with felony fraud and has been accused by former aides of bribery and abuse of office. He was acquitted in a high-profile impeachment trial in the Texas Senate in 2023 and his supporters say the charges against him are politically motivated.

“Ken Paxton’s ethics concerns are mostly connected to his behavior, not necessarily to his behavior in office,” Rottinghaus said. “There has been some overlap, though, where some of the actions he’s taken have been concerning to the state and lawmakers in particular. You’re likely to see some investigation of that or some re-litigation of that.

“I think Ken Paxton himself is politically damaged enough that none of the candidates are going to want to connect to him personally, but they may embrace what he did in office, that is, voting issues, abortion issues, enforcing the more conservative elements of what the legislature is passing, and suing the federal government.”

So while the position of attorney general may not have mattered much in years past to Texans who were not actively involved in the legal system, the Paxton era has changed how voters view the office, Rottinghaus said.

“The state has been giving more power to attorneys general so they’ve now got a bigger book of business they can use to be able to make a difference in their policy preferences,” he said. “The role of the attorney general is much more expanded than it was 50 years ago.”

Huffman and Middleton are both popular with their respective constituencies but will have to do some heavy campaigning in rural South Texas, Rottinghaus said.

The post hasn’t traditionally had a high turnover, so the winning candidate could be in office for many years, the professor added, noting that the Texas AG’s office has, in the past, been referred to as “Almost Governor.” Previous AGs have included Democrat Mark White, who held the office for 10 years and went on to become governor, and Greg Abbott, who held the office for 13 years before becoming governor. Cornyn was AG before becoming a U.S. senator.

Huffman, 68, was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2008 after serving as chief felony prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and judge of the 183rd Criminal District Court. If elected, Huffman would be the first permanent female Texas attorney general. Angela Colmenero briefly served as an interim while Paxton was suspended following his impeachment.

Huffman authored a game-changing bail reform package supported by Governor Abbott in the 89th legislative session that ended June 2. Most of the measures were signed into law, making it more difficult for those accused of violent crimes to spend time out on bond while they are awaiting trial.

“Her career has been moving toward this in that she’s been well-qualified to serve as attorney general,” Rottinghaus said. “She has the most logical career track to make a case that she’d be the best attorney general. She’s going to have to spend a lot of money to increase her name ID. Her district is in Houston, but it’s also a significant portion of rural parts of southeast Texas.”

Middleton, 43, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2019 and to the Senate in 2023. He is president of an oil and gas company and owns ranching, cattle, and farming operations across the state. He’s also independently wealthy, which gives him an advantage in running for a statewide office, Rottinghaus said.

“I guess if I had to handicap it, I’d say a candidate like Mayes Middleton has probably got more of an edge because he’s got proximity to [Lt. Gov.] Dan Patrick, who is able to motivate Republican interests, and he’s got near-endless amounts of money to spend. Those two factors alone probably dissuaded a lot of people from jumping in after he did,” Rottinghaus said.

Middleton served as chair of the Texas Freedom Caucus, founded by state representatives “committed to amplifying the voice of liberty-minded, grassroots Texans who want bold action to protect life, strengthen families, defend the U.S. and Texas Bills of Rights, restrain government and revitalize personal and economic freedoms in the State of Texas.”

Reitz, 38, served as Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy from March to June 2025. He previously served as chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

“Reitz doesn’t have much of a footprint in Texas politics in a public way,” Rottinghaus said. “He’s going to have to make up some ground to introduce himself to Republican primary voters. He’s done that a little bit in a way that one might expect, which is to sharpen his conservative credentials, especially as they’re connected to Donald Trump.”

Trump, who appointed Reitz to the Department of Justice, has called the candidate a “true MAGA attorney” and a “warrior for our Constitution.”

“Donald Trump, although his approval numbers have taken a bit of a hit lately, is still the gold standard for Republicans in Texas,” Rottinghaus said. “Reitz is the most prominent candidate in Trump’s orbit. He worked at the DOJ, and he knows [U.S. Attorney General] Pam Bondi. That’s a relationship that, if it pays off politically, will be a benefit to him. Whether Donald Trump endorses in an attorney general’s race in Texas is unknown, but we’ve seen him endorse in races that are even further down the ballot.”

Possible Democratic hopefuls include Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas; Sen. Roland Gutierrez, D-San Antonio; former Democratic AG nominee Justin Nelson; and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworksi, but none have said publicly they’re running.

“Any open seat is going to be one that Democrats are hopeful to compete in, so there’s some chance, despite the uphill battle Democrats face in Texas, an open seat might give them an opportunity,” Rottinghaus said. “I think Democrats probably want to let Republicans set the lay of the land before they make a decision of who’s going to run against them. Maybe they’re sort of holding their fire until they know a little more about what’s going to happen.”