AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- State Senator Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, announced the launch of his campaign for Texas Attorney General in a post on his X account Tuesday morning. "I am running for Texas Attorney General to continue the fight for our shared conservative values that keep the Texas Miracle alive," Middleton said in a news release. "As Attorney General, I will join President Trump in his efforts to return America and Texas to common sense and to fight to secure the border, ensure law and order and be tough on crime." Middleton said he is committing $10 million of his own money to his campaign effort. He is the President of Middleton Oil Company and served two terms as a State Representative before being elected to the Texas Senate. He holds a law degree from the University of Texas Law School, according to his biography on the Texas Public Policy Foundation website. Middleton will take on former U.S. Attorney John Bash in the race for attorney general, as incumbent Ken Paxton is running to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn. Portrait of John Bash. (Photo: Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council of Texas) Bash previously worked as a federal prosecutor for the Western District of Texas until 2020, and served as a special assistant to President Donald Trump during his first term. Since resigning as a government attorney, he has taken on cases such as defending Elon Musk in a defamation case. As a federal prosecutor, Bash led the state's cases against the perpetrator of the 2018 Austin porch bombings, who killed two people, and the corruption case against former state Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, who was found guilty in 2018 for his role in a Ponzi scheme. Bash said in a statement on social media he's running because Texas needs "the toughest, most battle-tested attorney to lead the fight to keep our communities safe, defend our constitutional rights and make sure Texas remains a leader in innovation and growth." ...read more read less