A debate about the Texas attorney general\u2019s 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\u2019s been accused in recent years of government overreach. <\/p>\n
Texas Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, entered the AG\u2019s 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\u2019s endorsement if one is made. <\/p>\n
Former U.S. Attorney John Bash, also a Republican, withdrew from the race about a month after announcing his intent to run, citing \u201cshifting priorities after a family health scare.\u201d So far, no Democrats have filed, possibly waiting until after a special legislative session that starts July 21. <\/p>\n
Paxton, now running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate against incumbent John Cornyn, has sparked debate over whether the state AG\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be a significant debate in this race about what the attorney general does,\u201d the professor said. \u201cI think that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m hopeful that will be an eye-opener for a lot of people to say that the attorney general\u2019s function should be connected to what people care about,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\n 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cKen Paxton\u2019s ethics concerns are mostly connected to his behavior, not necessarily to his behavior in office,\u201d Rottinghaus said. \u201cThere has been some overlap, though, where some of the actions he\u2019s taken have been concerning to the state and lawmakers in particular. You\u2019re likely to see some investigation of that or some re-litigation of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe state has been giving more power to attorneys general so they\u2019ve now got a bigger book of business they can use to be able to make a difference in their policy preferences,\u201d he said. \u201cThe role of the attorney general is much more expanded than it was 50 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Huffman and Middleton are both popular with their respective constituencies but will have to do some heavy campaigning in rural South Texas, Rottinghaus said. <\/p>\n
The post hasn\u2019t traditionally had a high turnover, so the winning candidate could be in office for many years, the professor added, noting that the Texas AG\u2019s office has, in the past, been referred to as \u201cAlmost Governor.\u201d 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. <\/p>\n
Huffman, 68, was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2008 after serving as chief felony prosecutor for the Harris County District Attorney\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHer career has been moving toward this in that she\u2019s been well-qualified to serve as attorney general,\u201d Rottinghaus said. \u201cShe has the most logical career track to make a case that she\u2019d be the best attorney general. She\u2019s going to have to spend a lot of money to increase her name ID. Her district is in Houston, but it\u2019s also a significant portion of rural parts of southeast Texas.\u201d <\/p>\n
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\u2019s also independently wealthy, which gives him an advantage in running for a statewide office, Rottinghaus said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI guess if I had to handicap it, I\u2019d say a candidate like Mayes Middleton has probably got more of an edge because he\u2019s got proximity to [Lt. Gov.] Dan Patrick, who is able to motivate Republican interests, and he\u2019s got near-endless amounts of money to spend. Those two factors alone probably dissuaded a lot of people from jumping in after he did,\u201d Rottinghaus said. <\/p>\n