Attorney General
StatewideMayes Middleton (R) faces Nathan Johnson (D) for Attorney General on November 3, 2026.
Open seat (Paxton left to run for Senate). Republican state senator Mayes Middleton won the May 26 runoff 55.2% over Chip Roy; Democratic state senator Nathan Johnson won his runoff 60.5% over Joe Jaworski. Sabato's Crystal Ball moved the race from Safe to Likely Republican on Aug 20, 2026, the first major handicapper to rate it.
Texas's chief legal officer, enforces state law, represents Texas in lawsuits, issues legal opinions for state agencies.
November General Election
Nov 3, 2026Sabato's Crystal Ball rates the race Likely Republican, moved from Safe Republican on Aug 20, 2026, citing Abbott's polling softness and the possibility that a bad year for Texas Republicans reaches down the ballot; it is the first major handicapper to rate the race. This open seat (Paxton left to run for Senate) pits two sitting state senators, Mayes Middleton (R) and Nathan Johnson (D). ReconMR/Siena surveyed likely voters September 8-11 and reported Middleton at 45% and Johnson at 44%, with 8% undecided or refusing to answer. See the polling table for the original release and methodology. No Democrat has won the Texas attorney general race since Dan Morales's reelection in 1994, and Republicans have held the office since 1999.
The November ballot, explained
Texas race coverage by email, only when something changes before Nov 3.
Runoff result
Primary Runoff
Winner.Mayes Middleton
Chip Roy
Winner.Nathan Johnson
Joe JaworskiMarch primary result
Primary Results
Mayes MiddletonChip Roy
Joan Huffman
Aaron ReitzNathan JohnsonJoe Jaworski
Tony BoxPolls vs. Results
Republican Primary
Democratic Primary
| Candidate | Party | Poll prediction (%) | Actual result (%) | Difference | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayes Middleton | Republican | 26% | 39.1% | +13.1 | |
| Chip Roy | Republican | 36% | 31.6% | -4.4 | |
| Joan Huffman | Republican | 21% | 15.1% | -5.9 | |
| Aaron Reitz | Republican | 5% | 14.2% | +9.2 | |
| Nathan Johnson | Democratic | 35% | 48.1% | +13.1 | |
| Joe Jaworski | Democratic | 32% | 26.4% | -5.6 | |
| Tony Box | Democratic | 10% | 25.5% | +15.5 |
Republican nominee
State Senator, SD-11
Democratic nominee
State Senator, SD-16
Also on the ballot
- Tom OxfordLibertarian
Certified for the November 3 ballot by the Texas Secretary of State, August 28, 2026.
Attorney General
GOP Runoff
Runoff Watch| Candidate | Support |
|---|---|
| Mayes Middleton | 48% |
| Chip Roy | 39% |
Primary Polls
GOP Primary
Runoff Watch| Candidate | Support |
|---|---|
| Chip Roy | 36% |
| Mayes Middleton | 26% |
| Joan Huffman | 21% |
| Aaron Reitz | 5% |
Dem Primary
Runoff Watch| Candidate | Support |
|---|---|
| Nathan Johnson | 35% |
| Joe Jaworski | 32% |
| Tony Box | 10% |
General Election Polling
| Pollster | Date | Sample | Middleton | Johnson | Undec. | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ReconMR / Siena Research InstituteFielded September 8-11, 2026. ReconMR/Siena's nonpartisan Texas Poll. Prompt named only Middleton and Johnson; 2% chose someone else, 1% would not vote, and 8% did not know or refused. Tom Oxford was an unprompted open-end response rounded to 0%. Mixed live telephone and text-to-web voter-file sample; telephone interviews in English and Spanish. MOE includes design effects. | Sep 2026 | 614 LV±4.3 MOE | 45% | 44% | 8% | Tied |
| Texas Public Opinion ResearchTPOR director Luke Warford is a Democratic strategist. Ballot named Libertarian Tom Oxford at 1% and independent Omer Khwaja at 1%. Fielded before the Aug 28 ballot certification; the ballot test named independent Omer Khwaja, who did not qualify for the November ballot. | Aug 2026 | 1,000 LV±3.3 MOE | 44% | 41% | — | Tied |
| UT Texas Politics ProjectBallot named Libertarian Tom Oxford at 3%. Registered voters, not likely voters. | Aug 2026 | 1,200 RV±2.83 MOE | 40% | 35% | — | Middleton +5 |
| Texas Southern UniversityThree-way ballot incl. Tom Oxford (L) 3%; 10% undecided. 77% of likely voters did not know enough about Johnson to rate him. Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center; SMS-to-web, fielded Jul 27-30, coauthored by Rice's Mark P. Jones. Sampling frame and weighting variables are not disclosed in the report. | Jul 2026 | 1,200 LV±2.83 MOE | 46% | 41% | — | Middleton +5 |
| Texas Pulse / ReconMRTexas A&M Bush School consortium, fielded Jul 27-30, released Aug 7. MOE is the core-question figure (n=619); two-way ballot. Middleton led 45-40 in the June wave. | Jul 2026 | 619 LV±4.7 MOE | 46% | 44% | — | Tied |
| Texas Public Opinion ResearchTPOR director Luke Warford is a Democratic strategist; conducted with Lake Research Partners. 18% undecided. | Jul 2026 | 1,048 LV±3.4 MOE | 39% | 38% | — | Tied |
Each row is one poll, shown as reported. Headline cards separately average eligible independent likely-voter polls; see the methodology page. “Tied” means the reported gap is within the poll's stated uncertainty, not that the candidates have equal support. An undecided share appears only when explicitly recorded from the source; a dash means it has not been recorded. Independently rounded categories may not sum to 100%. Likely-voter (LV) and registered-voter (RV) samples are not directly comparable.
Republican Primary · Poll Movement
Feb → Feb
| Candidate | Feb | Feb | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chip Roy | 40% | 36% | -4 |
| Mayes Middleton | 38% | 26% | -12 |
| Joan Huffman | 9% | 21% | +12 |
| Aaron Reitz | 6% | 5% | -1 |
Democratic Primary · Poll Movement
Feb → Feb
| Candidate | Feb | Feb | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Johnson | 28% | 35% | +7 |
| Joe Jaworski | 52% | 32% | -20 |
| Tony Box | 13% | 10% | -3 |
Campaign Finance
Dataset updated Sep 19, 2026Texas Ethics Commission · Coverage through Jun 30, 2025
Historical January-June 2025 report for Texans for Joan Huffman, a specific-purpose committee, not her candidate/officeholder account. Raised shows political contributions; cash includes prior balances. Amounts rounded to whole dollars.
Texas Ethics Commission · Coverage through Jun 30, 2025
Historical January-June 2025 report. Raised shows political contributions, excluding loans. Outstanding loan principal was $10 million; cash on hand includes loan proceeds. Amounts rounded to whole dollars.
| Candidate | Party | Total Raised | Total Spent | Cash on Hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joan Huffman | Republican | $763,625 | $112,032 | $3,009,443 |
| Mayes Middleton | Republican | $166,308 | $162,073 | $10,252,056 |
Endorsement Tracker
Republican runoff endorsements
Mayes Middleton(4)
Endorsement Tracker
Democratic runoff endorsements
Nathan Johnson(5)
Frequently Asked
Who is running for Texas Attorney General in 2026?
Republican state senator Mayes Middleton faces Democratic state senator Nathan Johnson in the November 3, 2026 general election. The seat is open because Ken Paxton ran for U.S. Senate instead of seeking re-election.
How were the 2026 Texas Attorney General nominees decided?
Middleton won the May 26, 2026 Republican runoff 55.2% to 44.8% over U.S. Representative Chip Roy. Nathan Johnson won the Democratic runoff 60.5% to 39.5% over former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski.
When is the 2026 Texas Attorney General election?
The general election is November 3, 2026, with a voter registration deadline of October 5.
What is the Texas Attorney General responsible for?
The Texas AG is the chief legal officer of the state: representing Texas in litigation, issuing legal opinions to state agencies, enforcing consumer-protection law, prosecuting Medicaid fraud, and leading multi-state lawsuits against federal policy. The office also runs child-support enforcement, its largest function by staff.
Who else is on the ballot for Attorney General in 2026?
Beyond the Republican and Democratic nominees, Tom Oxford is the Libertarian candidate. The full November 3 ballot was certified by the Texas Secretary of State on August 28, 2026.
Key Dates
Runoff date: May 26, 2026
Other statewide races
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