Texas State Senator Nathan Johnson, a three-term Democrat from Dallas, announced Tuesday that he is running for Texas attorney general. A business litigator at Thompson Coburn, Johnson is the first major Democrat to enter the race for the open seat, which is available for the first time in over a decade as incumbent Ken Paxton challenges U.S. Senator John Cornyn. Johnson said he wants to restore “faith and confidence” in an office he believes has been marred by “scandal and spectacle,” as reported by The Texas Tribune.
Three Republicans—state senators Joan Huffman of Houston, Mayes Middleton of Galveston, and former U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Aaron Reitz—are running in the GOP primary. Johnson enters the race facing an uphill battle, as no Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994. Johnson said his campaign will emphasize legal independence and a return to core duties.
“I’m not going to use the office to do what the Biden administration says or what the Trump administration says,” he said. “I’m going to use the office to do what it’s supposed to do.”
Johnson criticized the recent trend of the Texas attorney general’s office using its authority primarily to sue Democratic administrations. He pointed to former Attorney General Greg Abbott’s approach of routinely suing the federal government and Ken Paxton’s record of filing over 100 lawsuits against the Biden administration, while rarely challenging policies under Trump.
Positioning himself as a clean break from Paxton, Johnson pledged a scandal-free administration. Paxton has faced legal challenges including fraud indictments, an FBI investigation, and an impeachment by the Texas House, though he was later acquitted by the Senate. Johnson, who voted to convict, said the office’s priorities need to shift back to areas like consumer protection and Medicaid fraud enforcement. While he voiced personal respect for Middleton and Huffman, Johnson warned that their election would result in “essentially a fourth-term Ken Paxton.
