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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is headed toward a primary runoff, according to Decision Desk HQ.

But it's unclear whether he will face off against Eva Guzman, former Texas Supreme Court Justice or Land Commissioner George P. Bush. Both are neck and neck in their own fight for second place, with Bush leading slightly.

Paxton, the two-term incumbent, boasted the largest campaign war chest and the support of former President Donald Trump. But in a field of four candidates, he was unable to secure more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff election, setting the embattled attorney general on the defensive in the biggest fight of his political life.

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert of Tyler trails behind in fourth.

At an election night watch party in McKinney on Tuesday night, Paxton acknowledged he was heading toward a runoff race, which is scheduled for May 24, and pitched himself as the candidate against the "establishment."

"May 24 is not that far away. Tomorrow we start 0-0," Paxton told the crowd. "If you want to keep winning for Texas, if you want to be part of saving Texas and saving this country, we're going to have to fight the fight for the next two and a half months, get our vote back out, unite the conservatives."

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For months, Paxton’s opponents have blasted him for his legal troubles, which they have flagged as a knock on his integrity and a distraction in his ability to effectively carry out his duties. Eight of Paxton’s former top deputies accused him of bribery and abuse of office, which the FBI is now investigating. Paxton also has been under indictment since 2015 on securities fraud charges. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

With legal clouds hanging over his candidacy, Paxton is a prime target for Democrats in the general election. His intraparty challengers have said if Paxton wins, the Republicans would essentially hand the general election to Democrats.

Earlier in the evening at his watch party in Austin, Bush said his campaign was still analyzing voting results and stressed that many counties had still not submitted their vote count to the secretary of state’s office. He acknowledged that he was in a tight race with Guzman but celebrated that Paxton appeared headed for a runoff.

“This is a dead heat right now,” he said. “But the good news is, for the people of Texas, Ken Paxton is going to runoff. The indicted felon will have to answer voters in the next three months.”

“We still feel like we will go to that runoff,” Bush added. “We’re going to emerge in this.”

Bush pitched himself as the best candidate because of his track record in the private sector, serving in the U.S. military and running a large state agency with 800 employees. Guzman touted her 22 years of legal experience in state courts and questioned Bush’s legal chops, criticizing him for suspending his law license over the last decade.

Gohmert offered voters a candidate whose conservative politics were similar to Paxton’s but without the legal baggage. Both candidates are dedicated acolytes of former President Donald Trump, though Paxton was the one to win his endorsement.

As election day neared, Paxton started taking his opponents more seriously as polls revealed uncertainty that Paxton could win outright.

He recognized Gohmert’s threat and began running negative TV ads against him in Gohmert’s home region of East Texas. A week before the election, Paxton ran TV ads that blasted Gohmert for missing hundreds of votes in Congress during his 17 years in office. Gohmert said that criticism showed Paxton’s desperation and aired his own ad accusing Paxton of dishonesty.

Paxton also took out ads against Guzman, painting her as the “most liberal justice on the Texas Supreme Court” and a supporter of critical race theory.

While all four candidates were well-funded, Paxton had the biggest war chest, with $7.5 million on hand at the end of January. Bush, the runner-up in the money race at that time, had $2.6 million. Gohmert had less than $1 million in the bank during the same period.

Guzman also raked in a lot of cash, raising $1 million in 10 days to kick off her campaign. She attracted the support of major political groups like Texans for Lawsuit Reform, which endorsed her in a rare move against an incumbent.

Disclosure: Texans for Lawsuit Reform has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/01/texas-attorney-general-election-ken-paxton/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.