Statewide · Open seat
Texas Attorney General
Paxton's old job. Middleton beat Chip Roy 56-44 in the runoff after running as 'MAGA Mayes'; Dallas state senator Nathan Johnson won the D runoff over Jaworski. A July poll had them nearly tied, 39-38.
The desk’s rating
Leans Republican
Democrat
Nathan Johnson
State Senator SD-16 (Dallas); won May D runoff over Joe Jaworski
- Cash on hand
- $758K
- Raised
- $653K
- Spent
- $349K
Republican
Mayes Middleton
Won May R runoff (56%) over U.S. Rep. Chip Roy; former State Senator SD-11
- Cash on hand
- $10.00M
- Raised
- None
- Spent
- None
Money
Mayes Middleton holds 13x as much cash.
Cash on hand as reported in each campaign’s latest filing (as of Dec 2025 and Jan 2026 (est.)). Full finance records
The desk’s notes
Open seat. Ken Paxton vacated to run for U.S. Senate. Middleton beat Chip Roy in the R runoff; Nathan Johnson (Dallas state senator) won the D runoff over Joe Jaworski. A nationalized race: Middleton ran as 'MAGA Mayes,' Roy as the Trump-skeptic establishment pick.
A Texas Public Opinion Research poll of 1,048 likely voters (July 15-17, released July 2026) found the race nearly tied, 39% Middleton to 38% Johnson with 18% undecided; Johnson led with Black, Latino, and independent voters while Middleton led with college-educated and white voters.
What changed
August 7
Safe RLean R
A July poll found Middleton and Johnson nearly tied, 39 to 38, with 18 percent undecided.
Source: Texas Public Opinion Research
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$618K
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Inc.$105.70M
Share of cash on hand
Abbott has run Texas since 2014 and wants a fourth term. Three late-July polls, from TPOR, Fox News/Beacon and Texas A&M's Bush School, all had him under 3 points ahead of Hinojosa: his tightest position on a statewide ballot yet.
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$161K
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$184K
Don Huffines
Inc.$11.77M
Share of cash on hand
Hegar left in July to run Texas A&M. Trump's endorsement carried Huffines past Abbott-backed Hancock in the primary.
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