Aaron Reitz
Aaron Reitz (Republican Party) is running for election for Attorney General of Texas. He declared candidacy for the Republican primary scheduled on March 3, 2026.[source]
Reitz was an officeholder of the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy. He assumed office on March 26, 2025. He left office on June 12, 2025.
Reitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Donald Trump (R) announced on December 21, 2024, that he would appoint Reitz to serve as head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Policy in Trump's second presidential administration.[1]
Biography
Aaron Reitz served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009 to 2014 and in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve beginning in 2014. He earned a B.S. from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Reitz’s career experience includes working as an officer in the Marine Corps, as a law clerk for Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock, and as an attorney in private practice.[2][3]
Reitz has served as Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and as Chief of Staff for Senator Ted Cruz.[3]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the March 3, 2026, Republican primary for Texas Attorney General as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Joan Huffman (R), Mayes Middleton (R), Aaron Reitz (R), and Chip Roy (R) are running in the Republican primary election for Texas Attorney General on March 3, 2026. The filing deadline is December 8, 2025.
Incumbent Ken Paxton (R) is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2026.
The Texas Tribune's Gabby Birenbaum and Eleanor Klibanoff wrote that "[as] the biggest attorney general's office in a red state, Texas' top lawyer serves an outsized role in the conservative legal movement."[4] Birenbaum also said the race will likely be characterized by candidates "position[ing] themselves as the ideological heirs to Paxton’s conservative legal movement, which has put Texas at the forefront of high-profile cases on religious liberty, abortion and election law."[5]
Huffman was elected to the Texas State Senate in 2008. She previously worked as a prosecutor and a judge.[6] Huffman is campaigning on her legal experience, saying she has worked to "[uphold] the rule of law and [protect] our families."[6] She is also campaigning on her support of law enforcement and public safety, highlighting legislation she wrote that increased penalties for violent crimes, targeted drug trafficking, and funded border security.[6] The Houston Police Officers Union and Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association endorsed Huffman.[7]
Middleton was elected to the state Senate in 2023 and served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2019 to 2023. He is an attorney and president of an oil company.[8] Middleton is campaigning on his support for President Donald Trump’s (R) agenda, calling himself "a steadfast ally of President Trump and a proven champion of the America First movement."[8] Middleton says he would focus on public safety and would “fight to secure the border, ensure law and order, and be tough on crime."[9] U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) endorsed Middleton.[10]
Reitz is an attorney who served as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy in the U.S. Department of Justice from March to June 2025, and he previously served as Texas’ Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Paxton.[11][12] Reitz is campaigning on his support of Paxton, saying, "Under Ken Paxton, Texas has been a shining example for the conservative movement on how to fight and win against the enemies of Law, Order, and Liberty."[5] He is also campaigning on his support of and connection to Trump, saying he would "ensure the full weight of the Office of the Attorney General is behind President Trump and his agenda," and noting that Trump called him "a true MAGA attorney."[13][14] Paxton endorsed Reitz.[5]
Roy was elected to the U.S. House in 2019. He previously served as Texas’ First Assistant Attorney General under Paxton.[15] Roy is campaigning on his support of Paxton’s legal approach, saying, "[Paxton] and his team have done a great job fighting to defend Texas … We’re going to continue that legacy going forward."[4] Highlighting his legislative career, Roy says he has experience with border security, supporting law enforcement, and combating election fraud.[16] U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) endorsed Roy.[5]
Elections
2026
See also: Texas Attorney General election, 2026
General election
The primary will occur on March 3, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Attorney General of Texas
Joe Jaworski and Nathan Johnson are running in the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Texas on March 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Joe Jaworski | |
 | Nathan Johnson | |
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Attorney General of Texas
Joan Huffman, Mayes Middleton, Aaron Reitz, and Chip Roy are running in the Republican primary for Attorney General of Texas on March 3, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.[17] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."[18] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.
Below we provide results for polls from a wide variety of sources, including media outlets, social media, campaigns, and aggregation websites, when available. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval.
| Poll | Dates | Huffman | Middleton | Reitz | Roy | Undecided | Sample size | Margin of error | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | 12 | 3 | 8 | 40 | 37 | 576 LV | ± 4.1% | N/A | |
– | 4 | 4 | 3 | 38 | 50 | 800 LV | ± 3.5% | Texans for Chip Roy | |
– | 8 | 4 | 7 | 24 | 58 | 473 LV | ± 4.5% | Aaron Reitz for Attorney General | |
– | 12 | 8 | 7 | -- | 73 | 1,500 LV | ± 2.5% | N/A | |
| Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters. | |||||||||
Election campaign finance
Candidate spending
The tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA. Transparency USA tracks loans separately from total contributions. View each candidates’ loan totals, if any, by clicking “View More” in the table below and learn more about this data here.
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[19][20][21]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
Endorsements
Reitz received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R)
- National Border Patrol Council
- The Remembrance Project Action
2020
See also: Texas House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin defeated Justin Berry and Michael Clark in the general election for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Vikki Goodwin (D) | 49.3 | 66,816 |
 | Justin Berry (R) | 48.3 | 65,474 | |
| Michael Clark (L) | 2.4 | 3,311 | ||
| Total votes: 135,601 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary runoff election
Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Justin Berry defeated Jennifer Fleck in the Republican primary runoff for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on July 14, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Justin Berry | 54.7 | 6,418 |
 | Jennifer Fleck | 45.3 | 5,319 | |
| Total votes: 11,737 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Incumbent Vikki Goodwin advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Vikki Goodwin | 100.0 | 30,089 |
| Total votes: 30,089 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Jennifer Fleck and Justin Berry advanced to a runoff. They defeated Donald Zimmerman, Aaron Reitz, and Jennifer Forgey in the Republican primary for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Fleck | 32.1 | 5,766 |
| ✔ | | Justin Berry | 22.9 | 4,105 |
 | Donald Zimmerman | 22.9 | 4,104 | |
 | Aaron Reitz | 15.2 | 2,733 | |
 | Jennifer Forgey | 6.8 | 1,228 | |
| Total votes: 17,936 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian convention
Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 47
Michael Clark advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas House of Representatives District 47 on March 21, 2020.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | Michael Clark (L) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Campaign themes
2026
Video for Ballotpedia
| Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released September 9, 2025 |
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Aaron Reitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reitz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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After my military service, I dedicated my career to defending Texas and conservative values in the legal and political arena. I served as Ken Paxton’s Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy, where I led Texas’s biggest fights on border security, election integrity, and constitutional freedoms. I later served as Chief of Staff to Senator Ted Cruz and was appointed by President Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to run the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice, where I helped shape national legal strategy and advance the America First justice agenda.
In every chapter of my life, I’ve fought for the principles that keep Texas strong: faith, family, freedom, and the rule of law. I’m not a career politician; I’m a Texan who knows our state and nation are worth defending with everything I have. My record proves I know how to win the battles that matter most, and I’m ready to keep serving Texans with the same grit, conviction, and integrity that have guided me my entire life.- My campaign is all about advancing an America First Law & Order agenda that puts Texans’ freedoms, rights, safety, and sovereignty first. As Attorney General, I will use every tool at my disposal to secure the border, protect jobs, defend constitutional rights, and push back against the radical left’s attempts to remake our state. By going on offense in the courts, I will make sure Texas remains the stronghold of Liberty and the Rule of Law in America.
- Securing our southern border is non-negotiable. I will relentlessly pursue legal action against anyone aiding illegal immigration, target the cartels driving human and drug trafficking, and back law enforcement with every tool available. As a former senior Trump DOJ official, I am uniquely positioned to partner with the White House to accelerate operations that identify, arrest, detain, and deport illegal aliens. Restoring border security will protect Texas families, strengthen our economy, and preserve our state’s sovereignty.
- I will root out corruption and stop far-left local governments from undermining Texas values. Rogue officials will be held accountable, radical policies blocked, and the far left prevented from steering our state into the ditch. By defending the Constitution and enforcing the rule of law, Texas will remain strong, free, and firmly grounded in the principles that built America.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign ads
View more ads here:
2020
Aaron Reitz completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Reitz's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Preserve Texas's vibrant economic climate through low taxes and light regulations.
- Make our schools and communities safer
- Give our children a first-class education
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Truth Social, "Trump on December 21, 2024," accessed December 23, 2024
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on December 26, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Reitz for Texas Campaign Manager Josh Siegel," September 11, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Texas Tribune, "U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, Paxton aide turned foe, to run for Texas attorney general," August 21, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Texas Tribune, "Cruz, Paxton issue dueling endorsements in Texas attorney general GOP primary," August 25, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Joan Huffman 2026 campaign website, "About," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ Joan Huffman 2026 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Mayes Middleton 2026 campaign website, "Home," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ Mayes Middleton 2026 campaign website, "Conservative Republican Mayes Middleton Announces Campaign for Texas Attorney General," April 15, 2025
- ↑ Mayes Middleton 2026 campaign website, "Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ Texas Office of the Attorney General, "Attorney General Ken Paxton Congratulates Aaron Reitz on Being Sworn in as Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice," March 31, 2025
- ↑ The Texas Tribune, "Aaron Reitz, former top DOJ official and Paxton aide, launches bid for Texas attorney general," June 12, 2025
- ↑ "Aaron Reitz 2026 campaign website, "On the Issues," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ Aaron Reitz 2026 campaign website, "Home," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ Representative Chip Roy, "About," accessed October 13, 2025
- ↑ YouTube, "I'm running for Attorney General of Texas," October 13, 2025
- ↑ For more information on the difference between margins of error and credibility intervals, see explanations from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and Ipsos.
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "5 key things to know about the margin of error in election polls," September 8, 2016
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
