04/13/2026
Aaron Reitz ENDORSES Mayes Middleton for AG
From Aaron Reitz:
A thin, clickbait piece from The Federalist dropped yesterday claiming Mayes Middleton “tried to force towns to greenlight development of Muslim ‘Sharia Cities.’”
lol, no, not even close.
First, SB 854—which was jammed up procedurally in Mar/Apr 2025 and never passed—was overwhelmingly supported by Christian organizations and the most conservative legislators, and opposed by liberal political subdivisions and their allies. That tells you exactly where the battle lines were drawn. Chip now siding with the opposition here shows a willingness to align with the Left when it’s politically convenient.
Second, Mayes supported HB 4211, an important restriction on Sharia cities. HB 4211 worked *with* a hypothetical SB 854, not against it.
Third, Mayes supported SB 17, which bans certain foreign ownership of real property in Texas.
Fourth, Mayes supported Greg Abbott’s November 2025 executive order designating the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as terrorist and transnational criminal organizations. This—and the statutes it triggers—further shuts the door on Sharia developments.
Together, these laws ensure faith communities can build, while preventing the imposition of alternative/parallel Sharia-style legal systems: [SB 854] + HB 4211 + SB 17 + EO = no “Sharia cities.” Mayes backed all of this.
What’s more, Sharia law is illegal under the Constitution: Supremacy, Establishment, Free Exercise, Equal Protection, and Due Process Clauses, as well as the non-delegation doctrine and public policy exceptions all restrict the imposition of Sharia. Mayes’s initial support for SB 854 of course accounts for this.
Mayes has been consistently anti-Sharia and anti-Islamification since day one. I know this firsthand: I ran against him for nine months, and it was a top issue for him. It was for me too. I wouldn’t have endorsed someone weak on it.
Take anything from the Chip camp with skepticism. He’s spent years opposing President Trump and AG Paxton while aligning with figures like Mike Pence and Liz Cheney, flip-flopping on every major issue under the sun. After nearly a decade in Congress, he’s only now discovering this issue during campaign season?
This won’t be the last hit piece from the DC-centric pro-Chip camp. Don’t fall for it. Texas conservatives want Mayes Middleton as AG.
