Mayes Middleton: “There’s only one MAGA candidate here in this runoff, and it’s me.”
DALLAS — State Senator Mayes Middleton, R-District 11, acknowledges the Republican race for Attorney General is close and he expects the May 26 runoff will be a low turnout election.
But he’s confident as the race enters the closing stretch.
“Ken Paxton said he’s voting for me in this runoff on the 26th. Also, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has endorsed me in this race. My former primary opponent Aaron Reitz has endorsed me in this race and the first thing that he said, he said the reason why is he knows I will use every resource and tool in the AG’s office to back up President Trump,” Middleton told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Middleton’s opponent in the GOP runoff is U.S. Representative Chip Roy, R-21st District.
In one of the latest surveys by the University of Houston Hobby School of Public Affairs, Sen. Middleton leads Congressman Roy 48% – 39%. About 13% still said they weren’t sure how they were voting.
Some 1,200 likely Republican voters were contacted via text message for the survey, which has a margin of error of +/- 2.83%.
And the two candidates have been exchanging barbs as the election draws near.
Roy, for instance, has been knocking Middleton’s lack of courtroom experience, saying he’s not qualified because he’s not a practicing attorney.
Middleton counters by saying he’s the only candidate with the executive level experience needed to run such a large office.
“Here’s the experience that matters the most: defeating the left. That is the number one thing in the AG’s office. And look, for seven years I’ve been writing these laws (as a State Senator), drafting these laws, defending them against Democrat attorneys on the House floor, defending them against Democrat attorneys on the Senate floor, getting them over the finish line and winning,” Middleton argued. “Who better to enforce these laws than someone that was on the ground floor, writing them and already defending them against the left’s attacks?”
If elected, Middleton tells us some of the priorities he’d focus on include creating a standalone task force devoted to investigating and prosecuting elected-related crimes and “aggressively” enforce the ban on sanctuary cities, even potentially trying to remove local leaders who stand in the way of agencies such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“This is a time for choosing, right? That’s one of Ronald Reagan’s most famous quotes here. And for seven years I’ve been in this fight. That’s why I’ve earned the endorsement of so many conservative grassroots groups across our state,” he said.
Middleton did tell us he would ask Roy for his endorsement if he becomes the eventual nominee. And Middleton says if his opponent wins, he would support Roy.
In the Democratic race for Texas Attorney General, state Senator Nathan Johnson, D-District 16, will face former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski in the runoff election, which will be held May 26.
Early voting runs May 18 – 22.