In the fight to be the next Texas attorney general, Chip Roy has been on the ropes.<\/p>\n
A hard-line Republican congressman who has at times broken with President Trump, Mr. Roy has weathered a barrage of negative ads from a wealthy and self-funded opponent, Mayes Middleton.<\/p>\n
But the Republican primary for attorney general of Texas, a powerful position and a national conservative bellwether, could be upended in its final days because of a last-minute infusion of $2.75 million to Mr. Roy\u2019s campaign from a single donor.<\/p>\n
The contribution from Alex Fairly, an Amarillo businessman and emerging big-money Republican donor in Texas, was the largest in an influx of campaign cash that Mr. Roy reported raising in recent days, according to filings released late Monday. It could boost Mr. Roy\u2019s odds in the final week of the race, which is a runoff. Early voting has already begun and the election is May 26.<\/p>\n
In an interview, Mr. Fairly said that he was motivated to contribute both by Mr. Roy\u2019s experience and the job\u2019s importance to conservatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nation follows this attorney general,\u201d said Mr. Fairly. \u201cIt\u2019s just a big job, a critical, important job, and I think only one guy has any experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Roy said the contribution would help \u201cequalize the playing field.\u201d In a reference to Mr. Middleton\u2019s wealth, Mr. Roy added that \u201ca candidate should not be able to buy this race.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both candidates reported a rush of donations in Monday night\u2019s campaign finance filings.<\/p>\n
Mr. Roy reported raising nearly $8 million since late February, including a few half-million dollar contributions from other donors and the $2.75 million from Mr. Fairly, which was made up of $1.75 million in new cash and a forgiven $1 million loan.<\/p>\n
Mr. Middleton brought in $5.7 million during the same period, with more than $3 million of that coming from himself.<\/p>\n
It was unclear how the Roy campaign would spend the contributions from Mr. Fairly, which were made to the Texas Republican Leadership Fund, a political action committee supporting Mr. Roy that Mr. Fairly controls. But the additional money would likely support advertising to get Mr. Roy\u2019s message out in the last days of the race.<\/p>\n
Mr. Middleton, a state senator and the president of his family\u2019s oil company, did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t be bought,\u201d Mr. Middleton said in a recent speech<\/a>. \u201cThe Austin swamp cannot get to me, and they know it, and that\u2019s why they don\u2019t want to have me elected attorney general.\u201d<\/p>\n The two are vying to replace Ken Paxton<\/a>, who, during his decade in office, remade the office of Texas attorney general into the top lawyer for conservative America, aggressively targeting Democratic policies in the courts. As Mr. Paxton steps away from the job to challenge Senator John Cornyn, his possible Republican successors have pledged to pick up his mantle \u2014 and go further.<\/p>\n Both Mr. Middleton and Mr. Roy have said they would use the office to advance their Christian values, target liberal policies coming from Washington and back President Trump\u2019s agenda. Both have made anti-Muslim rhetoric a regular part of their campaign messaging. Neither could be described as the moderate in this race.<\/p>\n But Mr. Roy was among those Republicans who voted to certify<\/a> the 2020 election results against the president\u2019s wishes, and while he voted against Mr. Trump\u2019s impeachment, he said<\/a> the president had committed \u201cimpeachable conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Middleton, tapping his own personal fortune, has spent millions to brand himself as \u201cMAGA Mayes\u201d and has run ads calling attention to Mr. Roy\u2019s disagreements with Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n Mr. Roy has acknowledged his at-times rocky relationship with the president, who shifts between calling the congressman a \u201cno talent<\/a>\u201d annoyance, and someone who is tough but capable.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to know why I\u2019m a pain in the butt to a lot of the people in Washington?\u201d Mr. Roy said last month at a Tea Party meeting in Montgomery County, near Houston. \u201cIt\u2019s because I said I would fight.\u201d<\/p>\n By contrast, Mr. Middleton\u2019s mailers show him posing with the president, while also questioning Mr. Roy\u2019s loyalty.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has not endorsed anyone in the race, but the advertisements quote the president from 2021, when he said Mr. Middleton\u2019s \u201crecord on conservative issues is second to none.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Roy has had a fraught relationship with Mr. Paxton. He worked under Mr. Paxton about a decade ago, experience Mr. Roy says would be vital if he won the job. But his time with Mr. Paxton ended abruptly when he and other senior staff resigned.<\/p>\n Mr. Roy was later among the few prominent Republicans to call on Mr. Paxton to resign<\/a> after members of his senior staff accused him of corruption and reported him to the F.B.I. The corruption allegations led to Mr. Paxton\u2019s impeachment<\/a>; he was eventually acquitted.<\/p>\n Mr. Paxton has not endorsed anyone in the race \u2014 at least not openly. But Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor, said<\/a> on social media that an audio recording had captured Mr. Paxton saying he would support Mr. Middleton. Mr. Patrick, who also supports Mr. Middleton, blasted Mr. Roy for \u201cinsubordination\u201d against Mr. Paxton. (Mr. Paxton\u2019s campaign did not respond to questions about the recording.)<\/p>\n Despite the rift, Mr. Roy has attracted some financial support from several billionaires who have bankrolled Mr. Paxton\u2019s past campaigns. He has also been endorsed by Senator Ted Cruz.<\/p>\n