Fairly, Esq.

Alex Fairly, one of Texas's most prolific Republican donors, wrote Chip Roy a $2.75 million check in the attorney general runoff — the kind of number that ends conversations about who the money wants.

Fairly said Roy is the only candidate "able and prepared to do the job." That line lands with extra weight when Roy's opponent, state Sen. Mayes Middleton, has spent months deflecting questions about running for the state's top law enforcement post without a law degree.

Texas law doesn't require the attorney general to be a licensed attorney. Middleton isn't one. Roy, a former federal prosecutor and U.S. congressman, is.

The runoff was always going to be decided partly on credentials and partly on cash. Fairly's donation does work on both fronts — it bankrolls Roy's campaign while amplifying the implicit argument that Middleton isn't qualified for that office.

Reporting by the Texas Tribune.