Democrat Nathan Johnson defeated Republican Mayes Middleton in the race for Texas Attorney General.
Johnson had 52.3% of the votes to Middleton’s 46% as of early Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press.
Democrats had already made sweeping gains across Texas late Tuesday, with James Talarico winning the U.S. Senate seat against current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott conceding to Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa. Johnson will be the first Democratic Texas Attorney General since Dan Morales, who was in office from 1991-1999.
Paxton has shaped the office of attorney general into a political vehicle for conservative social issues and President Donald Trump’s agenda. He sued the Obama administration 17 times during the short period they overlapped after Paxton was elected in 2014. Paxton later sued President Joe Biden’s administration over 100 times, and launched a failed effort to overturn the 2020 election results.
Johnson told KERA in a previous interview he would take the office in a different direction.
“I would not make it a political stronghold,” he said. “It’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to the attorney for the people of the state of Texas, whether they’re Democrats or Republicans. There is some damage to undo.”
Middleton had said he would continue fighting for conservative causes in office. The state senator from the 11th district ran on a MAGA platform: His campaign peppered the airwaves with ads dubbing him “MAGA Mayes.”
“We need someone in that office like me who will use every resource and tool to back up President Trump and his America First agenda, and that is exactly what I will do,” Middleton said at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year.
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