U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Austin) will run for Texas attorney general in 2026 instead of seeking reelection, setting up an open race in his deep red congressional district.
Texas’ 21 Congressional District includes much of the ruby red Hill Country, but stretches east from Fredericksburg, reaching over into San Antonio’s North Side.
Once a political battleground, it was redrawn into a Republican stronghold after the 2020 census, and would remain overwhelmingly red under the new congressional maps expected to take effect in 2026.
Under new boundaries, it would have given President Donald Trump 60.2% of its vote in 2024 — similar to how it performed under the existing lines.
Roy, 53, is a leader in the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has represented the district since 2019.
“It has been my honor to represent the 21st Congressional District of Texas — the best part of the best state in the greatest country in the history of the world,” Roy said in a statement Thursday.
“But representatives should not be permanent, and my experience watching Texans unite in response to the devastating Hill Country floods made clear that I want to come home,” he continued. “I want to take my experience in Congress, as a federal prosecutor, and as First Assistant Attorney General to fight for Texas from Texas.”
Current Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, isn’t running for reelection in 2026 because he’s instead challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in the GOP primary.
Roy joins a crowded GOP primary race to replace him.
Likewise, his congressional seat will also draw a long list of interested Republicans. The district’s open GOP primary in 2018 drew 18 candidates.
Democrats, on the other hand, say it likely remains out of reach.
On Thursday, the Texas Majority PAC — a super PAC aimed at turning Texas blue — laid out Democrats’ plans to compete across a reshaped congressional map that has changed the party’s top targets for 2026.
PAC director Katherine Fischer said Democrats should recruit a good candidate for the open race, but Texas’ 21st is not “particularly winnable this cycle.”
“Northern San Antonio is more white and conservative than other parts [of the city],” Fischer said. “So it’s a tough district.”
Roy’s decision means ambitious San Antonio politicos will likely have two open congressional seats to compete for in 2026.Texas’ 35th Congressional District is being redrawn to cup the city’s Southeast Side — far away from incumbent U.S. Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Austin) home.
Casar is expected to seek a more Austin-centric district instead, creating an opening both parties will fight over.
On Thursday, San Antonio Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) told the Report that he’s been approach about the new congressional openings and would consider either TX21 or the new TX35 — though he lives in TX21.
