The race for Texas Attorney General is wide open and other changes ahead at the Capitol
For the first time in more than a decade, there will be a vacancy at the Texas Attorney General's Office. Now that Ken Paxton is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate against incumbent John Cornyn, multiple candidates have either announced their campaigns to become the state's top prosecutor while others have said they're strongly considering jumping into the race.
Three Republicans have entered the race so far: State Senator Mayes Middleton of Galveston, who's pledged to spend $10 million dollars of his own money. Another State Senator, Joan Huffman of Houston, a former criminal court judge, is also in the race, and Aaron Reitz, who worked briefly in the Trump administration, and has worked for Paxton is running as well. In the Democratic primary, reports indicate State Senator Nathan Johnson of Dallas and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, who ran four years ago, may run for Attorney General.
As we've reported, the race for Texas Comptroller next year is accelerating as well. Three candidates are running in the Republican primary: Hancock will face former State Senator Don Huffines of Dallas and Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick. Glenn Hegar, who served as Comptroller for a decade, is now the Chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. The Texas Tribune reports that State Representative Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, is considering running in the Democratic primary for that office.
The political dominoes are also falling inside the Texas Senate. In North Texas, there are two openings in Republican-held seats. Party activist Leigh Wambsganss is running for State Senate District 9 in Tarrant County after Senator Kelly Hancock resigned to become the Acting Texas Comptroller. Initially, State Representative Nate Schatzline, R-Fort Worth, announced he was running for the special election to fill that seat, but he changed his mind, and instead is running for re-election.
Governor Abbott called for a special election on November 4. In Senate District 22, Republican State Representative David Cook announced he is running to succeed Senator Brian Birdwell who announced he won't run for re-election. Earlier this year, Cook ran unsuccessfully for Speaker of the House. While Cook received a lot of support from House Republicans, he was defeated by Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock. Speaker Burrows has been endorsed by President Trump for his seat next year.
