Overview
- State Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas announced his campaign on July 15, marking the first Democratic bid for Texas attorney general since 1994.
- Johnson criticized his predecessor’s tenure for personal scandals and a heavy focus on partisan lawsuits against the Biden administration.
- Attorney General Ken Paxton vacated the post in April to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, creating an open race for the first time in more than a decade.
- Republican contenders Mayes Middleton, Joan Huffman and Aaron Reitz have already declared primary campaigns, each highlighting conservative legal credentials.
- A Johnson victory would end a 31-year Democratic drought in statewide office and reshape the role of Texas’s top legal official.