Aaron Reitz Backs Mayes Middleton in Texas AG Runoff, Puts Trump Loyalty Front and Center

Former Texas Deputy AG Aaron Reitz says Mayes Middleton, not Chip Roy, is the candidate best positioned to carry forward the Trump and Paxton legal fight in Texas.

Mar 26, 2026

Former Texas Deputy Attorney General Aaron Reitz has made his choice in the Republican runoff for Texas attorney general. He is backing state Sen. Mayes Middleton over Rep. Chip Roy, and he is not being subtle about why.

Reitz, who previously ran in the same contest and pulled in more than 250,000 votes before exiting, said the next attorney general needs three things: loyalty to President Trump, a willingness to continue Ken Paxton's fighting style, and a clear-eyed understanding that Texas is in a political and cultural fight for its future. His conclusion was simple. Middleton checks those boxes. Roy does not.

That matters because this is not just another Texas primary squabble. This is a runoff for one of the most important legal jobs in America. The Texas attorney general is often the point man when states challenge federal overreach, defend election laws, fight border chaos, and push back on the Left's latest bright idea. So yes, voters are going to care who is ready to fight and who is mostly giving interviews about fighting.

Why Reitz Says Middleton Fits the Job

According to Breitbart's report on Reitz's endorsement, the former deputy AG said Middleton has stayed aligned with President Trump and has built a record around the same core issues grassroots conservatives care about most.

Those issues include:

border security
election integrity
protecting girls' sports and private spaces
stopping hostile foreign actors from buying Texas land
pushing back on the radical Left's agenda

That lines up with Middleton's own campaign message. On his campaign site, Middleton presents himself as a hard-line conservative focused on enforcing voter ID laws, defending the border, protecting women and girls, holding rogue district attorneys accountable, and rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.

In other words, he is not running as a mushy consultant-built candidate whose platform reads like it was approved by twelve nervous donors and a focus group in Austin. He is running as a culture-war conservative who actually seems to know there is a culture war.

The Trump Question Is Not a Side Issue

Reitz's endorsement zeroed in on something Republican primary voters in 2026 are not likely to shrug off: where these candidates have stood on President Trump.

Reitz contrasted Middleton's support for Trump with Roy's history of criticizing him, especially during past fights inside the Republican coalition. That argument is aimed directly at runoff voters who do not want another Republican officeholder acting bold at home and wobbly when it is time to back the movement's leader.

And let's be honest. In today's GOP, loyalty to Trump is not some weird little footnote the consultants can bury under tax-policy bullet points. It is a basic trust test. Republican voters want to know whether a candidate will stand with the president when the media mob starts screaming, or whether he will suddenly discover a deep concern for elite opinion.

That is the lane Reitz is driving straight down.

What Roy Brings to the Race

To be fair, Roy is hardly running as a moderate. His own campaign site calls him a proven conservative fighter focused on defending Texas, enforcing the rule of law, and taking on government overreach. He has a strong profile with many conservative voters and plenty of name recognition.

But endorsements are often about contrast, not biography. Reitz is telling voters that this race is not about who can talk conservative for a mailer. It is about who can be trusted to carry forward the Paxton-style posture at the attorney general's office.

That is a specific argument, and a potent one in Texas Republican politics.

Why the Paxton Legacy Still Matters

Ken Paxton's long tenure has shaped what many conservative voters now expect from a Republican attorney general in Texas:

aggressive lawsuits against federal overreach
unapologetic defense of conservative state laws
willingness to take political heat
no interest in getting invited to polite bipartisan cocktail hour

For voters who liked that approach, Reitz is essentially saying Middleton is the continuity candidate.

Roy's supporters will obviously disagree. But this endorsement gives Middleton something valuable in a runoff: a validation from someone who worked inside the attorney general's office and knows what the job looks like up close.

Why This Runoff Matters Beyond Texas

You do not have to live in Texas to see why this matters. Republican attorneys general have become some of the most consequential figures in national politics. They sue administrations, block federal rules, defend state sovereignty, and often become the last line of resistance when Washington decides the Constitution is more of a suggestion.

So when Texas Republicans pick their next AG, they are not just choosing a legal technician. They are choosing a fighter. Or at least they should be.

Reitz has now made his opinion very clear. He says Middleton is the candidate who will back Trump, continue Paxton's combativeness, and treat the Left's agenda like a real threat instead of a messaging opportunity.

Texas voters will decide on May 26. But the shape of the race is getting clearer. This runoff is becoming a test of who grassroots Republicans believe will actually use the office like it matters. In Texas, it does.

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