The race for Texas Attorney General is heating up as Republican candidates ramp up their campaigns, with significant financial backing propelling their efforts. Leading the pack are state Senator Mayes Middleton and U.S. Representative Chip Roy, both of whom have amassed impressive war chests ahead of the upcoming primary.
This marks the first open primary for the state’s top legal position in over a decade, as four Republicans compete to succeed Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is stepping aside to challenge GOP Senator John Cornyn.
Middleton, hailing from Galveston, has emerged as a formidable contender, raising an impressive $11.8 million in the last six months of the previous year. Notably, over 90% of this sum has come from his own funds, reflecting his commitment to self-finance his campaign as an oil and gas executive. Despite substantial expenditures of $6 million on advertising and mail campaigns, Middleton retains $5 million in his campaign account, according to his latest financial disclosures submitted to the Texas Ethics Commission.
The largest contribution to Middleton, aside from his own investment, came from William Oberndorf, a California billionaire known for advocating school vouchers, who donated $50,000.
Roy, who is currently seen as the frontrunner in polling, has secured $4.2 million in his campaign account, boosted by a $2 million transfer from his congressional campaign. This transfer constituted nearly half of the $4.5 million he raised from July to December. The campaign highlighted that 85% of the donations received during this period were under $100.
Roy’s financial support also includes contributions of $250,000 each from Douglas Scharbauer, a rancher and horse breeder from Midland, Houston investor Robert “Hank” Seale, and the Texas Republican Leadership Fund, a political action committee established by Amarillo businessman Alex Fairly.
In the mix is Aaron Reitz, a former Department of Justice official and a close associate of Paxton, who has received Paxton’s endorsement to carry on his legacy. Unlike his competitors, Reitz, a relative newcomer to the political scene, has raised all of his $3 million in campaign funds since launching his bid in June.
Although he trails Middleton and Roy in available funds, Reitz emphasizes his strong grassroots support, claiming to have garnered more individual contributions than all other candidates combined. Notably, he received just two donations exceeding $100,000 from Houston media executive Jonathan Knutz and Austin energy executive Matthew Calhoun.
“This is a true grassroots campaign powered by the People,” Reitz stated. “Texans want a Paxton-endorsed, Trump-trusted champion who has spent his career leading legal troops into legal combat to deliver legal victories for our state, our nation, and conservative Republican values.”
State Senator Joan Huffman, representing Houston, trails the leading candidates in both new contributions and cash reserves. A former prosecutor and judge, Huffman positions herself as a law-and-order candidate. She has attracted support from long-established Republican donors, including Ross Perot Jr., who are viewed as part of the party’s traditional establishment amid a shifting political landscape.
The fundraising efforts of the GOP candidates starkly outshine those of their Democratic counterparts. State Senator Nathan Johnson of Dallas leads the three Democratic candidates, raising approximately $650,000 during the reporting period, resulting in a total of $750,000 cash on hand. Former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, who previously ran for the nomination in 2022, raised nearly $220,000 and has $250,000 available, while first-time candidate Tony Box, an attorney from Dallas, reported raising $137,000 with about $28,000 in cash.
A recent poll conducted by Texas Southern University indicated that Johnson and Jaworski are nearly tied, with 57% of Democratic voters expressing uncertainty about their choice and the majority indicating a need for more information about the candidates.
