Campaign Roy, Middleton head for May runoff in Texas attorney general GOP primary by Caroline Vakil - 03/03/26 10:29 PM ET by Caroline Vakil - 03/03/26 10:29 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R) are projected to head into a May runoff for the GOP nod to succeed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), according to Decision Desk HQ.  The two men were among four Republicans competing for the nomination. The other GOP contenders included Paxton-endorsed Aaron Reitz, a former Justice Department official, and state Sen. Joan Huffman. A candidate needed to win more than half of the vote outright to avoid a May 26 runoff.  A member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Roy has at times been a thorn in the side of President Trump and House Republican leadership.   Roy notably backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the 2024 GOP presidential primary before the Florida governor later dropped out. The Texas Republican also drew the  ire of the president in 2024  over his opposition to Trump’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling. Roy was also initially opposed to Trump’s megabill last year, though he later ended up supporting the legislation.   Despite often being at odds with Trump, Roy has been polling ahead in recent surveys, though Middleton, a former chairman of the Texas House Freedom Caucus and key GOP donor, is a close second. The president notably has not weighed in on the race.  Still, some of Roy’s opponents questioned his conservative bona fides in the race and attacked him for his occasional fights with the president.  “What we don’t need is somebody who [would be] an attorney general like Chip Roy, who spent 10 years fighting President Trump, defending [former Wyoming U.S. Rep.] Liz Cheney, calling us MAGA F-ers, and we could kiss his you know what if we didn’t like it,” Middleton said at a primary debate last month, taking shots at the frontrunner in the race,  according to KXAN . “We can’t afford that in the AG’s office.”  Despite criticism over his professional experience and lack of endorsements, Middleton was able to wage a serious challenge as the major GOP donor and former chairman of the Texas House Freedom Caucus heavily self-financed his campaign,  spending more than $10 million  in his primary.   One question looming over the race is whether Paxton will endorse Middleton since his preferred pick, Reitz, lost.   State Sen. Nathan Johnson, former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and attorney Tony Box are vying for the Democratic nod to succeed Paxton.  Add as preferred source on Google Tags Aaron Reitz Chip Roy Donald Trump Ken Paxton Liz Cheney Ron DeSantis Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Campaign News See All House Gonzales forced into House GOP runoff amid affair allegations by Caroline Vakil 16 minutes ago House  /  16 minutes ago