Democrat Nathan Johnson and Republican Mayes Middleton appear to be headed for a battle over who will be Texas' next attorney general in the November election.
Johnson, a state senator from Dallas had almost 60% of the vote in the Democratic runoff shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday , with about 34% of statewide polling locations reporting. And Middleton, a state senator representing the 11th district, had picked up about 56% of the vote in the Republican primary. The Associated Press called the Democratic contest for Texas AG for Johnson and the Republican contest for Middleton Tuesday night.
The winner in November will replace Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who outdistanced incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff election Tuesday.
Johnson was opposed by former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy unsuccessfully opposed Middleton in the runoff.
Much of the GOP runoff for the AG nomination focused on who's the true MAGA candidate.
Texas became the lead advocate for President Donald Trump's agenda in the courtroom under Paxton's leadership. Middleton's campaign ran several ads dubbing him "MAGA Mayes."
Middleton frequently pointed to Roy's past criticisms of the president during the campaign. Roy previously said in a press release that Trump's conduct during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol during President Joe Biden's inauguration was "clearly impeachable" but called the Democrats' articles of impeachment flawed and voted against it.
"Our voters are just not going to forgive someone that has spent ten years fighting against the president like Chip Roy has," Middleton said at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March.
Roy told KERA via email after Middleton's remarks his actions in Congress show he's committed to advancing Trump's agenda.
Roy told CBS News ahead of the runoff election people on the left fear having him as AG.
"There's a lot of folks who would like to see me not be attorney general because they're afraid of what I would do to advance a conservative agenda for the people of Texas," he said.
The Republicans spent millions of dollars on their campaigns. Middleton, who runs his family's oil and gas company, used his personal wealth to bolster his campaign funds.
Johnson's campaign fundraising has been lower than Middleton, reaching six figures according to campaign finance reports.
Democrats often struggle to match Republicans' funding, said Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson.
"A Democrat that far down the ballot is usually going around the state with a tin cup trying to raise lunch money," Jillson said.
But Johnson told KERA ahead of the runoff election he doesn't need to match Middleton's fundraising levels to win in the general election.
"I don't need as much money," he said. "I need enough money. I need to hit a threshold where I can communicate with everybody in Texas who I am. After that, they're just buying the same votes or turning off the same people over and over again."
Johnson took office as a state senator in 2019. According to his campaign website, the Dallas litigator has authored 433 bills and 134 have passed into law. The website also says he has "composed musical scores for the hit anime series Dragon Ball Z."
Middleton's campaign website describes him as the president of an independent oil and gas company and attorney who also runs "ranching, cattle, and farming operations. It also states that he and his wife support local community organizations and faith-based charities in the Galveston-Houston area.
Got a tip? Email Caroline Love at clove@kera.org.
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