This briefing reflects reporting and polling available as of Sept. 12, 2026. Candidates, endorsements and polling can change before Election Day on Nov. 3, 2026.
Why This Race Matters
Texas’s open attorney general seat has drawn less national attention than the state’s marquee Senate race, but it may be just as consequential for how the office is run. Republicans have held it since the 1990s, and outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton used it aggressively as a political tool. Whoever wins will decide whether that approach continues or changes, in a contest political analysts describe as unusually close for a statewide Texas race.
The Race
Paxton gave up the seat to run for the U.S. Senate against Sen. John Cornyn, whom he defeated in the Republican primary runoff. State Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston won the Republican runoff for attorney general, defeating U.S. Rep. Chip Roy. State Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas won the Democratic runoff, defeating former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski. Middleton leads in early polling, though the race is considered unusually close for a statewide contest in Texas, and Middleton holds a significant financial advantage.
The Candidates
Mayes Middleton (R) has branded himself “MAGA Mayes” and aligned his campaign explicitly with President Trump’s agenda. He authored Texas’s law requiring transgender individuals to use restrooms and locker rooms matching their sex assigned at birth. His stated priorities include suing to stop “sanctuary cities,” supporting the state’s border security and deportation efforts, pursuing zero-tolerance policies for violent crime, and reining in local district attorneys he describes as declining to enforce the law. He has said defeating “the left” is the most important part of the job.
Nathan Johnson (D) has served in the Texas Senate since 2019. His stated priorities include consumer protection, rooting out corruption, and pushing back on what he calls federal overreach. He has said his top priority would be rebuilding the office’s staff and culture after Paxton’s tenure, arguing career attorneys left in large numbers rather than serve under a politicized administration. He has also said he would not enforce Middleton’s bathroom law as attorney general, a position Middleton has repeatedly cited on the campaign trail.
Top Issues
The office’s role itself. More than most attorney general races, this contest is a referendum on how the office should function. Johnson argues it should act as a check on government power regardless of party; Middleton has said explicitly that defeating political opponents is central to the job.
Enforcement discretion. Johnson’s statement that he would decline to enforce the transgender bathroom law has become a central point of contrast, with Middleton arguing it disqualifies Johnson from the office and Johnson arguing selective enforcement priorities are a normal, longstanding feature of the role.
Immigration and sanctuary policy. Middleton has made suing jurisdictions he considers insufficiently cooperative with federal immigration enforcement a signature priority; Johnson has not proposed a comparable enforcement agenda on immigration.
Consumer protection and office culture. Johnson has centered his campaign on rebuilding what he describes as a depleted office, an argument aimed less at ideology than at basic government function.
Evidence Check
Claim (Middleton): Johnson would not enforce Texas law as attorney general, citing Johnson’s stated opposition to the bathroom law. Check: Johnson has confirmed he would decline to enforce that specific law, which he has called discriminatory; this is a narrower claim than a blanket refusal to enforce Texas law generally, and Johnson has not indicated he would decline to enforce other statutes.
Claim (Johnson): The attorney general’s office has been “sapped of talent” under Paxton because good public servants do not want to work under a politicized administration. Check: this article could not independently verify office-wide staffing or turnover data to confirm the scale of departures Johnson describes; it is a characterization consistent with broader public reporting on turnover in the office but not one this briefing can quantify.
Claim: Paxton used the office as a political tool, particularly by suing the federal government far more often under a Democratic president than a Republican one. Check: reporting from the Texas Tribune confirms Paxton sued the Biden administration repeatedly across a range of issues and has not filed comparable suits against the Trump administration, a documented pattern rather than a disputed characterization.
Supporter Voices
Several former Texas Supreme Court justices, per reporting from the Texas Tribune, have crossed party lines to endorse Johnson, arguing the office needs a return to nonpartisan legal administration. On Middleton’s side, this briefing could not locate comparably sourced endorsement quotes beyond his description of the race as a “spiritual battle” for the state’s future; national Republican figures have not weighed in as prominently on this race as they have on the state’s Senate contest.
How This Race Is Being Framed
Middleton has framed the race in explicitly partisan and ideological terms, describing it as part of a broader fight to stop the political left from harming the state. Johnson has framed it as a referendum on competence and integrity in a specific state office, deliberately avoiding some of the sharper ideological language Middleton has used. Political analysts quoted in Houston Public Media’s coverage describe Johnson as an unusually strong Democratic recruit for a Texas statewide race, even as they note Middleton retains a substantial financial and structural advantage in a state Republicans have carried consistently in recent cycles.
Related Links
- Middleton leads Johnson in race for Texas attorney general, but the contest is unusually close – Houston Public Media
- Texas Supreme Court ex-justices back Dem for attorney general – The Texas Tribune
- Mayes Middleton and Nathan Johnson offer stark contrast in race for open Texas Attorney General seat – CBS Texas
- Texas attorney general race: Mayes Middleton and Nathan Johnson to face off in November – WFAA
- Mayes Middleton – Ballotpedia
Discussion Questions
- What do you think the role of a state attorney general should be: a neutral legal officer, or an extension of a governing party’s agenda?
- Do you find Middleton’s enforcement priorities or Johnson’s institutional-repair argument more persuasive?
- Should a candidate for attorney general say in advance which laws they would decline to enforce?
- How should voters weigh a documented pattern, like selective lawsuits against one party’s federal government, when evaluating a candidate’s likely conduct?
- Why do you think this race has drawn less national attention than the state’s Senate contest?
- What would it mean for Texas politics if a Democrat won a statewide office for the first time in decades?
- How much should cross-party endorsements, like those from former justices, influence your view of a candidate?
- What responsibility does an attorney general have to maintain office staff and institutional knowledge across administrations?
- Should immigration enforcement be a central priority for a state attorney general’s office?
- Imagine you are a career attorney in the office deciding whether to stay through a change in leadership. What would matter most to you?
