Democrat Nathan Johnson will be Texas’s next attorney general after defeating state Sen. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, according to Associated Press projections. He will be the first Democrat to serve in the role since 1999.
Johnson managed to secure a narrow win with 52.3% percent of the vote to Middleton’s 46%. He will take over the role from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who lost his bid for U.S. Senate to Democrat James Talarico.
The Attorney General is the state’s chief legal officer, charged with representing the state of Texas in all litigation and approving public bond issues. The attorney general also offers legal opinions when requested by certain Texas government officials, although these opinions are not legally binding.
Johnson has served in the Texas senate since 2019, where he has focused on healthcare, the electrical grid and criminal justice, among other issues. His campaign focused on stopping the “MAGA Assault” of the attorney general’s office, protecting consumers and rooting out political corruption.
Johnson toppled Middleton, another state senator and “steadfast ally of President (Donald) Trump,” who was running on a platform focused on securing the border, eliminating waste and cracking down on the “woke-left’s radical gender agenda.”
Johnson will start a four year term in January of 2027. Johnson is currently a state senator from Dallas.
