GOP Congressman Trump Threatened to Primary Is Mulling a Run for Texas AG
AP Photo/John Minchillo
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is seriously considering leaving Congress to run for Texas Attorney General, a source familiar with the congressman’s thinking confirmed to Mediaite.
Since he was first elected to Congress in 2018, Roy has charted his own path, building a staunchly conservative voting record and joining the Freedom Caucus but also publicly sparring with President Donald Trump repeatedly, especially on budget issues. Roy’s criticism of an omnibus budget bill last December infuriated the president, who wrote several posts on his Truth Social account lambasting Roy and calling for him to get a primary challenger. Roy shrugged off Trump’s attacks and argued that his opposition helped get “a lot of bad stuff” out of that bill.
There will be an open race for Texas AG in 2026 since the current officeholder, Ken Paxton, is challenging Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX). Roy previously served as Paxton’s chief deputy and publicly called for him to resign as AG in 2020 after seven other top Paxton aides accused him of bribery and abuse of office. Those accusations led to impeachment hearings in the Texas Legislature in 2023, with the Texas House voting to impeach him but the Senate voting to acquit.
Still, Roy has largely managed to avoid getting splattered with the internecine mudslinging going on within the Texas GOP, likely aided by the fact that Trump has not endorsed in the Senate race and the One, Big Beautiful Bill did finally pass, alleviating that particular friction between the congressman and the president.
The Hill’s Michael Schnell reported that Roy was “eyeing a bid for Texas attorney general,” citing two sources. Roy notably did not shut down chatter he might run when reached for comment, saying, “I’m always considering where I can best serve the people I represent to ensure we preserve and protect a free, secure, and prosperous Texas for generations to come.”
Mediate confirmed the report Roy was considering returning to his old stomping grounds in Austin on Monday with a source familiar with Roy’s thinking. The source pointed to Roy’s work assisting local residents after the devastating Kerrville floods, which happened in his congressional district, as something that had affected his thinking and was weighing on his mind, pushing him more towards wanting to work full-time in Texas again.
There are already several other Republicans who have tossed their Stetsons into the ring, including State Sen. Mayes Middleton, State Sen. Joan Huffman, and Aaron Reitz, the former Deputy Texas AG who was appointed by Trump to serve in the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Policy and confirmed in March but resigned less than three months later to launch his campaign.
The rhetorical bouts with Trump and Roy’s willingness to speak to reporters — and not just those from conservative media outlets — have undoubtedly elevated Roy’s name recognition over the past few years. That’s a priceless advantage running in a state as large as Texas is geographically and in population, and on its own may be enough to propel him past the current group of primary candidates and any of the other current and former GOP legislators who are reportedly considering running as well.
Roy also has the benefit of having previously fought his way through a crowded primary. His first election in 2018 saw him prevail in a field of 18 for the then-open seat for Texas’ 21st congressional district. Since then, Roy has won re-election by comfortable margins, besting a well-funded former State Sen. Wendy Davis by more than 6 points in 2020, and walloping his last two Democratic challengers by more than 25 points in both 2022 and 2024.
He would be giving up a solidly Republican seat; Cook Political Report evaluates his district as R+11 for the 2026 midterms. Nonetheless, if he runs, Roy would be far from the first politician to see the tradeoffs between a congressional seat that still requires nearly constant campaigning and fundraising to run every two years and the risks of running for a statewide seat, and chose to take the chance that is home, closer to family.
Roy met his wife Carrah Roy while they were both students at the University of Texas School of Law, and they have a son and daughter, both in high school. Before he was elected to Congress, Roy served as the staff director for Cornyn when he was vice-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, chief of staff for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a senior advisor for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, First Assistant Attorney General for Texas, and Special Assistant United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Texas.
