U.S. Rep. Chip Roy and state Sen. Mayes Middleton are headed for a primary runoff election in May for the GOP attorney general nomination.
The Associated Press called the race for the two top Republican vote-getters Tuesday evening. Neither reached the 50% threshold to avoid a runoff in a field that included state Sen. Joan Huffman and former Ken Paxton aide Aaron Reitz, both of whom trailed the frontrunners.
Meanwhile, early results for the Democratic primary show state Sen. Nathan Johnson from Dallas in the lead, but still short of what's needed to avoid a runoff.
However, the results of that race remained too close to call late Tuesday night because of problems at the polls in Dallas, where a judge ordered polling sites to remain open an extra two hours — an order that was later put on hold by the Texas Supreme Court.
Johnson had about 49% of the vote as of Tuesday evening. Former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and Dallas attorney Tony Box both hovered around 25%.
Ken Paxton, the current Attorney General, reshaped the mostly non-political office into a platform for conservative values known for frequent litigation and investigations. Paxton is headed to a runoff election in the GOP U.S. Senate primary against incumbent John Cornyn.
A New Direction?
The next Attorney General will have the opportunity to maintain the status quo Paxton has set or chart a new course.
Both Middleton and Roy have campaigned on their conservative records and connections to President Donald Trump. Middleton is the author of bills including Senate Bill 8, which requires people in public schools, universities, government buildings, prisons and jails to use restrooms and locker rooms that match the sex listed on their birth certificate, not their gender identity. Protesters at the state Capitol called him “the bathroom bigot,” Middleton told KERA in a previous interview.
The Attorney General sets the tone for Texas politics, the state senator said.
“The AG is not just some lawyer, they're not just an appellate attorney,” Middleton said. “You're setting the conservative agenda for this entire state.”
That includes hardline stances on immigration and "Sharia law." Muslim groups have asserted that Republicans mischaracterize Sharia law to promote an anti-Muslim bias. Paxton has launched multiple investigations and filed lawsuits targeting the proposed Muslim-oriented housing development in North Texas formerly known as EPIC City. Now called The Meadow, the community has faced multiple state and federal investigations, including a Justice Department probe that was closed in June after the developer said it would emphasize the community’s inclusivity in its marketing materials.
Roy founded “The Sharia Free America Caucus” in Congress alongside Rep. Keith Self, a fellow Texas Republican who represents most of Collin County in North Texas. He said at a Republican Attorneys Association debate ahead of the primary that he would prioritize going after Muslim organizations if elected.
“I will go after the 600-plus organizations that are advancing Sharia, undermining Western civilization, using the full power of the Office of Attorney General,” Roy said.
Is Texas feeling blue?
Community Capital Partners, the developer of The Meadow, has accused top Republicans of attacking the project for political gain, including Paxton.
Johnson, the Democratic frontrunner, told KERA in a previous interview Paxton’s focus on ideological issues instead of the basic functions of the office like consumer protection and child support does a disservice to the public.
Johnson accused Paxton of using the office improperly.
“If you're using it as a right-wing headline machine, if you using it for political persecution, by definition you're taking time and staff to chase those things, they are not going to have time to do the things you should be doing,” Johnson said.
Democrats haven’t won a statewide election in decades. But Democrats recently flipped Texas Senate District 9 during a special election in Northwest Tarrant County, what had previously been a GOP stronghold since the early 1990s.
The Democrat, Taylor Rehmet, won by 13 points despite the Republican candidate, Leigh Wambsganss outspending Rehmet by $2 million.
The unexpected upset and record-breaking Democratic turnout in the primaries across the state have given Texas Democrats hope for the upcoming midterm general election in November.
That could mean Democrats make headway similar to gains Democrats made in the state in 2018, the midterm election year during Trump’s first term. Democrats picked up several Congressional seats that year.
Johnson was elected to the Texas Senate in 2018, flipping a previously Republican district. He said the same forces at work in Texas in 2018 are present this election.
“Between surging Democratic turnout, independents favoring the left, and Republican crossover, I think, you're going to see Democratic victories,” Johnson said.
Middleton, who served in the Texas House before he was elected to the State Senate, said at a Collin County Young Republicans debate that keeping Texas red will take hard work.
“It is going to be a tough election this midterm year, and I know I can deliver victory for our great state,” he said.
The primary runoff elections for Attorney General is scheduled for May 26.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
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