Chip Roy

Texas Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton sharpened his attacks on rival Chip Roy during an appearance Tuesday on Newsmax, accusing the congressman of being forced out of the Texas attorney general’s office years ago as the bitter GOP runoff for attorney general entered its final hours.

Middleton, who is running to succeed Ken Paxton if Paxton wins his Senate bid against John Cornyn, used the appearance on "Wake Up America" to cast himself as the proven conservative in the race while portraying Roy as unfit for the job.

“Chip Roy’s last day in the AG’s office in 2016, he was told, resign or be fired,” Middleton said. “Why? Because of gross insubordination. And he was escorted out of the door.”

Middleton added that Paxton himself is backing his campaign and argued the attorney general “could not imagine Chip Roy in this job.”

Middleton's rhetoric underscored growing tensions inside Texas Republicans as multiple high-profile runoff races have become proxy battles over loyalty to President Donald Trump and the direction of the conservative movement.

During the interview, Middleton leaned heavily into culture-war themes that have become central to Republican primaries in Texas and across the country. He described his candidacy as a continuation of battles against what he called “the woke left” and “radical gender ideology.”

“If you are an enemy of Texas, you are an enemy of mine,” Middleton said. “It is about those proven conservative results of defeating the left.”

Middleton pointed to legislation he said he authored and passed during his seven years in office, including measures involving women’s sports, school prayer and restrictions on foreign land purchases.

“I took on the woke left and the radical gender ideology,” Middleton said.

He also touted efforts to restore prayer and the Ten Commandments in schools and said he moved to stop China from purchasing land in Texas.

Middleton further escalated his rhetoric when discussing Islam and Sharia law, claiming he had fought efforts by “radical Muslim groups” to acquire property in Texas.

“Sharia law is organized crime, period, and I will treat it as such,” he said.

The runoff contest comes as Texas Republicans prepare for what is expected to be a closely watched election cycle nationally, with Trump-backed candidates seeking to consolidate control over the party.

Middleton also praised Trump’s influence in the Senate runoff between Cornyn and Paxton, calling the president “the greatest president we have ever had in our history” and describing the race as a “grassroots movement.”

Both runoff races are expected to serve as a test of Trump’s political strength with conservative voters in Texas heading into the November elections.

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