Provided/office of State Senator Maze Middleton
With Ken Paxton running for the US Senate, the race will become the next Texas Attorney General.
Galveston Sen. Mays Middleton got off to a strong start with his bid for the Republican nomination, according to multiple political analysts.
Middleton declared his candidacy on Tuesday, declaring him second to declare former US Attorney John Bash.
“They’re not Ken Paxton’s clones,” said John Taylor, chairman of the Department of Political Science in Geography at San Antonio, but they are most certainly allied with the social conservatism and strong conservatism found in Republicans in Texas.
Political consultant Bill Miller said Middleton has the advantage as he is willing to violate his personal property as the owner of a race’s oil and gas company.
“Maze Middleton is very wealthy and informally said he would make up to $25 million in races. I have to say, it’s a deterrent for others to race,” Miller said. “The possibility of raising such money in the primary race of AG, you know, that would be difficult. And I think you have to say Middleton looks very strong right now.”
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Sen. Brian Hughes of northeast Texas told the Houston Chronicle he was also considering a run. Hughes and Middleton’s Senate term ends next year. Under Texas law, they can run for the Attorney General or maintain a Senate seat, but not both at the same time.
So far, no significant Democratic candidates have emerged to run for the state attorney general.
“I haven’t heard a lot of rumbling right now, and I think that’s a problem, because at least I think there are Democrats who think, ‘OK, maybe that’s right,'” Taylor said.
For over 40 years, the Texas lawyer general has served as a running stool for a higher office. Democrat Mark White held his office from 1973 to 1983 before signing governor. Republican John Cornyn won a Senate seat between 1999 and 2002 before hosting a post held by Phil Gram. And Republican Greg Abbott held his office from 2002 to 2015 before signing governor. Paxton, the current Attorney General, is opening his office to challenge Cornyn for a Republican Senate nomination in 2026.
“It’s clearly an office that has attracted a lot of political attention, especially in its role, at least in its case in Texas, in its role in fighting the federal government and in its interests,” Taylor said. “What’s interesting is that there are no Ken Paxton baggage, any looming charges or any bullet each that took place in this race.”
Paxton has spent many of the two and a half conditions under the legal cloud. He was fired into the Texas House and was appointed in 2023 on other crimes on charges of bribery and job abuse, but was acquitted in the Texas Senate that year. Paxton also faced state securities fraud charges and federal corruption investigations, as well as state bar investigations related to his role in overturning the outcome of the 2020 US presidential election. Everything was eventually removed.
The 2026 Attorney General’s race will be the first open contest of the post since 2014.
“This is where someone who wins a Republican nomination can win the election in ’26 unless something strange happens and there’s no crime for Democrats,” Taylor said.
