Ken Paxton headed to Republican runoff in Texas AG race; Garza leads Democrats
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Civil Rights Attorney Rochelle Garza led their primaries, but were unable to avoid runoffs — setting up May contests between the candidates and the second-most vote-getters.
Paxton, an embattled Republican who took office in 2015 will appear on a ballot with George P. Bush, who with 99% of polling places reporting had 22.79% of votes to Paxton’s 42.73%.
Paxton on Tuesday acknowledged he was probably headed to a runoff during a watch party in McKinney. He was also in a runoff in 2015 but did not have a primary opponent in 2018.
“Clearly to the establishment, they got what they wanted,” Paxton said. “They got a runoff. This is nothing new for me.”
Garza, a Democrat, received 43.16% of votes with 99% of polling places reporting, advancing her to a runoff with with either Former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski, who has 19.59% of votes, or Lee Merritt (19.43%), a civil rights lawyer known for representing the families of Atatiana Jefferson and Botham Jean.
“I am incredibly honored for every vote our campaign received in this election and the broad movement we were able to build in only four short months,” Garza said in a statement. “This campaign expanded overnight with people from all across the state and country who saw themselves in this campaign and who believed in the future of Texas enough to invest in it.”
The three Republicans challenging the attorney general are aligned in their opposition of Paxton, who took office in 2015, the same year he was indicted on felony securities fraud charges. Paxton has not gone to trial in the case and is separately under investigation by the FBI related to claims he abused his position to help a donor. All three opponents cited his legal troubles as a contributing factor to their bids in candidate questionnaires for the Star-Telegram.
“Last night, over 57% of Texas voters made a statement at the ballot box: corruption will not be tolerated in our state. Paxton, I look forward to holding you accountable to Texans for your crimes,” Bush said in a Wednesday tweet. “It’s time for the next generation of conservative leadership.”
Opponents have also criticized Paxton’s absence in debates and forums leading up to the primary.
“Look, anything he says at a debate can and would be used against him, so that’s why he’s not here,” U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, who got 17.02% of votes in the Republican primary, said during a debate in late February.
As they criticize Paxton, the Republican candidates have also fought each other, particularly Bush and Guzman, who held back little at the recent debate broadcast by Spectrum News. Jabs include Bush referring to Guzman as a “gutter politician” and Guzman calling Bush, part of an American political dynasty, “entitled,” according to the Texas Tribune.
“It got ugly, fast,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor.
The three candidates have similar positions on policy, but each has a distinct background.
Bush, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and a veteran who served in Afghanistan, was elected as Texas’ Land Commissioner in 2014. He previously practiced corporate and securities law. During the Spectrum debate, he distinguished himself from his family calling himself his “own man” when asked about his family’s resistance to Trump.
Guzman has served as a judge since 1999 and was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court 2009 by then-Texas Gov. Rick Perry. She has touted her judicial background as bringing a “depth of legal experience” to the attorney general role. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn both served on the Supreme Court before attorney general, setting precedent for the path.
Gohmert has served in Congress since 2005. Before that he served as a district judge in Smith County and was appointed by Perry to complete a term as chief justice of the 12th Court of Appeals. He has made headlines for downplaying the Jan. 6 attack.
“They all pretty much espouse the same set of conservative beliefs and typically followed national political policies of the Republican Party,” Rottinghaus said. “The differences they’ll emerge in the kind of cult of personality, so each candidate’s attempting to explain how their biography and their approach the job is going to be better than Paxton and everybody else.”
A large field of candidates emerged on the Democratic side as candidates try to flip the office blue in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide since 1994: Besides Garza, Jaworski and Merritt, candidates include former Harris County Criminal Court Judge Mike Fields, lawyer S. “T-Bone” Raynor.
“I got in this race to fight for Texas families, protect voting & reproductive rights and hold corporations and bad actors to account when they take advantage of Texans,” Garza said in a statement. “Indicted Ken Paxton is the most corrupt Attorney General in the country and our campaign is ready to defeat him this November.”
Rottinghaus predicted the attorney general seat could be one of Democrats’ best chances to win statewide office.
“If Ken Paxton wins, it’s going to be a nationalized race,” he said. “That means you’re going to see money from all over come in to try to unseat Ken Paxton. Not just because Ken Paxton is disliked nationwide, in part because of his association with Donald Trump, but also because this is a chance for Democrats to bake the Republicans’ hold on Texas.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 7:54 PM.
