Ken Paxton spent over a decade turning the Texas Attorney General's office into the most feared conservative legal weapon in America – over 100 lawsuits against Biden and counting.
Now the race to replace him just exploded.
Four Republicans stepped onto the debate stage in Dallas Tuesday night, and before the night was over, one of them dropped two words that may have just defined this entire primary.
The Moment That Changed the Debate
Aaron Reitz, a former Paxton deputy who also served under Trump at the Department of Justice, drew the sharpest line of the night when state Sen. Joan Huffman pushed back on his pledge to fire three left-wing district attorneys within his first month in office.
Huffman said removing rogue prosecutors "cannot be done on day one" – that there's a constitutional process that has to be followed.
Reitz wasn't having it.
"This idea that I'm saying things that can't be done is exactly the sort of loser mentality why Republicans often don't win," Reitz fired back.
"Don't be fooled by the kind of Republican that says, 'It can't be done; we have to go through a process,'" he continued. "If you have the courage to get something done in the justice system, as Paxton has shown us for over a decade, you can get it done."
A Race About Paxton's Legacy
The primary on March 3rd is less than two weeks away, and every candidate on that stage knows exactly what winning this office requires.
Paxton's record isn't just impressive – it's a blueprint.
He sued Biden over 100 times. He stopped Biden's illegal deportation freeze. He dealt a string of court defeats to DACA. He won a $1.4 billion settlement from Meta. He beat Biden's attempt to force gender ideology into Texas foster care. He made Texas, as even CNN acknowledged, "a legal graveyard for Biden policies."
Whoever sits in that chair next will inherit the most powerful state legal office in the country at the most consequential moment in a generation.
Reitz, who carries Paxton's personal endorsement, is betting Texas Republicans want someone who understands that the job requires more than experience – it requires aggression.
The Frontrunner Takes Fire
Chip Roy, the four-term congressman from Austin who leads the field in recent polling at 33%, found himself in the crosshairs most of the night.
Reitz hit Roy on his record as Paxton's early deputy, claiming Roy "was so ineffective, so bad at serving as Paxton's deputy, that Paxton fired him."
Roy denied it and pointed to his endorsement from Ted Cruz – who served as Texas Solicitor General for a decade – as proof he has the legal credentials for the job.
Mayes Middleton, the state senator from Galveston, also took shots while positioning himself as the MAGA candidate in the race, pointing to his legislative record on gender ideology, women's sports, and prayer in public schools.
All four candidates stood united on the issues that matter most to Texas conservatives – fighting the transgender agenda, securing the border, and pushing back on activist prosecutors who won't enforce the law.
What This Race Actually Means
Paxton made the Texas AG office into a national conservative powerhouse by understanding one thing: you win by fighting, not by explaining why you can't fight.
The Dallas, Travis, and Harris County DAs that Reitz wants gone on day one aren't just local problems – they're part of a coordinated Democrat strategy to nullify conservative state law from the inside, protecting criminals and obstructing law enforcement in Texas's three biggest urban counties.
Whoever wins this primary won't just be the next attorney general of Texas.
They'll be the next front line commander in the national battle against a Democrat Party that has spent years using local prosecutors, federal bureaucracies, and activist judges as weapons against conservative governance.
Reitz put it plainly Tuesday night: Republicans lose when they convince themselves they can't win.
Texas primary voters head to the polls on March 3rd.
Sources:
- Rebeka Zeljko, "'Loser mentality!' Sparks fly as Texas Republicans spar to succeed Ken Paxton," Blaze Media, February 17, 2026.
- Eleanor Klibanoff, "Texas GOP attorney general candidates debate Tuesday night," The Texas Tribune, February 17, 2026.
- Ballotpedia, "Texas Attorney General election, 2026 (March 3 Republican primary)," February 2026.
- Office of the Attorney General, "Attorney General Ken Paxton Continues to Secure Victory After Victory on Behalf of the People of Texas," 2025.
- University of Houston Hobby School, "Texas Primaries 2026 Survey," January 2026.
