Here are the Democratic primary runoff candidates for Texas attorney general
Democrats Joe Jaworski and Nathan Johnson are in Democratic runoff for Texas attorney general. The winner in the March 3 primary will appear on the November ballot with the Republican nominee.
Here are the Democratic candidates’ responses to a Star-Telegram questionnaire, listed in ballot order.
Joe Jaworski
Age (as of March 3): 64 years old
Campaign website: www.JaworskiForTexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you: email joe@jaworskifortexas.com
Occupation: Lawyer/Mediator
Education: B.A., Spanish Literature, Davidson College (1984); J.D., University of Texas School of Law (1991)
Have you run for elected office before?
Yes. City Councilmember, District Three (2000-2006) (three two-year terms); Democratic nominee, Texas Senate District 11 2008 (lost general election); Mayor of Galveston 2010-2012 (lost runoff election June 2012); candidate for Democratic nomination Texas Attorney General (lost runoff election May 2022).
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Texas:
Elected to Galveston city council (2000-2006) and office of Mayor (2010-2012); appointed to Galveston Ethics Commission (1996-1998); Galveston Park Board of Trustees (1998-2000); Galveston Wharves Board of Trustees (2004-2006). Texas Lyceum (2006- present); American Leadership Forum (2005 - present); Center for Houston’s Future (2010-2011). Organizer/Activist/Whistleblower in Galveston, Texas 1996 - present.
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No.
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding?
Yes. On April 18, 2000 I filed suit in Galveston County District Court under cause number 00-CV-0389 as Plaintiff against Don Fields, The Millicom Group and Kappafest 2000, Inc. for defamation. I witnessed inflated, gouging entrance fees being charged to multiple Kappa weekend attendees, I spoke tho these attendees who asked me to do something about it, and I urgently reported this information to one of the Kappa event managers who I thought would be thankful for my reporting. Rather than thanking me for my whistleblowing, the event promoter the next day at a press conference called me a racist and alleged that I bribed attendees to make false claims about the event. I sued, litigated the case, took it to trial, testified on the stand, proved the gouging did take place and won a verdict and judgment against the defendants. I did not try to collect the judgment, as I was interested only in publicly clearing my name which I did.
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Weldon Granger (trial Lawyer); Jeff Westphal (family friend); Lyndon Olson (former Ambassador to Sweden under President Clinton and loyal democrat).
Why are you seeking this office?
I don’t lie. I can’t be bought. My reputation matters to me.
I believe open government is a classic American value. Government should tame the savageness of man and make life in this world more gentle, not crueler. That belief guides my work as a lawyer, my service as mayor of Galveston, and my decision to run for Texas Attorney General.
I’ve been a full time lawyer for 35 years, even while campaigning across Texas. I return my own calls/texts/emails because people deserve to know they’re being heard by the person asking for their vote.
I’ve served eight years in public office, fought corruption in my own community, stood up to bullies and racists to deliver public housing for working families, and paid a political price for doing the right thing. I’ve never regretted it.
I’m running because my conscience compels me to put my experience and problem-solving skills to work for 32 million Texans. If I do my job right, people will see what real public service looks like again.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
Affordability - I will create and staff within the OAG a Division of Affordability focused on helping young adult Texans afford the American Dream (graduating debt free, getting a good job that pays good wages, home ownership or affordable rent and starting a family).
Elections - I will create and staff within the OAG a Division of Elections and Voter Encouragement to register every high school senior pursuant to Texas Election Code section 13.046(d) and to reverse decades of voter suppression wrought by GOP/Tea Party/MAGA Texas politicians.
Whistleblowing Corruption - I will create and staff within the OAG a Division of Ethics and Integrity which will investigate, and with local District Attorneys will take punitive action to respond to, credible complaints of fraud, corruption and crime within Texas Government. The Texas AG DEI will also advocate for term limits, campaign contribution limits, independent redistricting commissions and citizen initiated legislation by petition.
How will you measure your success as attorney general?
In the Division of Affordability, I shall tally all child support collected and disbursed and, without compromising anyone’s privacy, advertise totals on the AG website at least annually. I will advertise the costs of civil litigation divisions along with recoveries derived from investigations, law suits and enforcement actions and post those sums as well. I will review employees performance annually.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
I have superior legal, local government and executive experience among the three candidates. As Galveston mayor after Hurricane Ike, I fought bullies who threatened me politically because I supported rebuilding first public housing for Galveston’s working poor. I got the housing built, but it cost me re-election. That’s proof of courage in office that I’ll summon when fighting MAGA politicians. Nathan Johnson is not courageous. To secure his committee vice-chairmanship, My opponent has sided too often with senate republicans. He voted to suppress free speech, he voted to place Proposition 16 on last November’s ballot (“clarifying that a voter must be a United States citizen”), he voted to acquit Ken Paxton on two demonstrably proven counts of impeachment, and he has publicly declared at a 2024 primary debate that he would not support democrats who run against his seated Republican colleagues. Democratic primary voters want a fighter as their top lawyer. I will deliver the fight.
What are Texans looking for and wanting most in their attorney general?
A fair protector of the rule of law. A compassionate, articulate and positive attorney with a sterling professional record who believes that government is a public service.
What’s the biggest challenge the next attorney general will face in Texas, and how would you address it if elected?
Improving morale and productivity in the Office and regaining the public’s trust. I will hire young and mature professionals who will represent the face of Texas. I will give these professional the tools to suceed, and i will let them lead.
What steps would you take to promote public transparency in the Office of the Attorney General?
As I have done as mayor and as a candidate, I will remain open and available. As Attorney General, I will regularly travel the state, visiting high school, college, University and law school campuses. I will lean deeply into openness in enforcing and interpreting the Texas Public Information Act. I will always follow the intent of the post-Watergate scandal sunshine laws.
Please outline your legal experience. How will that experience inform your tenure as attorney general if elected?
I’m a third-generation Texas attorney, practicing in the profession that my grandfather Leon and father Joseph famously pursued. I graduated from the University of Texas School of Law along with my wife Rebecca in 1991. I then clerked for respected maritime and civil rights jurist United States Court of Appeals Judge John R. Brown. Following a successful three-decades strong trial law practice in Gulf Coast state and federal courts, I am now a highly sought after national and international mediator. I know the judges and the lawyers in this state, I will recruit attorneys based on my good name and reputation. I have handled major litigation against powerful interests, and I know how to manage a long term matter nd then bring the matter to resolution. I know when to sue and when not to sue. I know how to value disputes. I know when to hire expert help to assess a matter.
What changes, if any, should be made in the way the Office of the Attorney General handles child support payments and enforcing child support laws?
The Office of Attorney General should utilize better software to manage collection of more funds and to disburse those funds more timely.
In 2025, Texas Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 12, allowing the attorney general to independently prosecute election fraud. Do you support that measure, and how would you approach election-related litigation as attorney general?
I do not support the measure because that bill was a Ken Paxton vanity project that Paxton guilted lawmakers to pass for all the trouble they caused him in 2023. Instead, I will create and staff a “Division of Elections and Voter Encouragement” to make voting easier and widespread. I will refer matters requiring criminal investigation and prosecution to appropriate local authorities, and my office will be pleased to assist those authorities, if requested.
The Office of the Texas Attorney General is regularly tasked with deciding whether or not records should be released through open records requests. Please describe how you’d handle open records requests as attorney general.
As discussed above, I will lean heavily into transparency. My bias - and I’m proud to say it here - will be that all documents should be made public unless a statutory exception is clearly and convincingly met.
Nathan Johnson
Age (as of March 3): 58
Campaign website: nathanfortexas.com
Best way for voters to reach you: nj@nathanfortexas.com; 512-309-1990
Occupation: Attorney, Texas State Senator for Senate District 16
Education: University of Arizona, B.S.; University of Texas, J.D.
Have you run for elected office before?
Yes. In 2018, I flipped a 30-year old Republican seat when I beat Don Huffines by 9 points and became the State Senator for Senate District 16. I have since been reelected to office in 2022 and 2024.
Please list the highlights of your civic involvement/activism in Texas.
Pro Bono Attorney, Human Rights Institute of Dallas
3rd-grade reading tutor with Reading Partners
Chair, Dallas County Trails and Preservation Board
Bedford Mentor, University of North Texas Law School
Youth Soccer Coach, YMCA
Member, Flinn Scholar Alumni Advisory Council
Participant, Leadership Dallas Program
My commitment to strengthening communities is reflected in the diverse range of activities my team and I have been a part of:
Hunger Mitao
United to Learn
North Texas Food Bank
Red Cross Blood Drives
City of Dallas It’s My Park Day
Salvation Army
Family Gateway Holiday Store:
Community Does It Christmas Celebration
Have you ever been arrested, charged with a crime or otherwise been part of a criminal proceeding? No
Have you been involved in a civil lawsuit or bankruptcy proceeding? No
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
Daniel Cocanougher, Dallas private equity investor and Dragon Ball Z producer
Evelyn Rose, Dallas donor
Garrett Boone, founder of The Container Store
Why are you seeking this office?
Over the past several years and especially in the past year, we have seen the rule of law undermined by political and commercial forces, overwhelmingly for the purpose of advancing right wing political causes and concentration of commercial wealth. I’m running, in part, to reverse that destructive trend.
The OAG should perform the basics well: child support, oversight of various programs, and advising agencies and the Legislature. It should and must investigate and prosecute corruption instead of participating in it, enforce competition laws in the marketplace, and work with district and county attorneys instead of against them to keep communities safe. It should defend the state and individuals against the lawless infliction of damage by the Trump administration, in concert with Democratic attorneys general across the country. And under my leadership, it will.
If elected, what would your top 3 policy priorities be?
One: Make the Office work. Re-build the agency by hiring and retaining great people.
Two: Make markets work. Elevate consumer protection and enforce fair competition laws. Both have received insufficient attention over the past several decades, and the federal government is all but shutting them both down. The AG combats unethical business practices such as market consolidation, predatory pricing, fraud, and all kinds of scams. This will help with cost of living, too.
Three: Make government work: (i) protect individual rights and state’s rights, which will require, among other things, suing the Trump administration whenever they break the law or violate the constitution; (ii) partner with district attorneys to improve public safety while promoting just and effective law enforcement; (iii) in representing the state, work with agencies and the Legislature to support and uphold the rule of law; (iv) root out corruption, rather than participating in it.
How will you measure your success as attorney general?
Slowly. It will take time to rebuild trust and confidence and esteem in what should be a noble office. Success will be measured by agreements and judgments that resolve big lawsuits, but also by changes in corporate behavior that leave consumers less vulnerable to manipulation and predation. Success will be recruiting top-quality staff and counsel, and building an office culture that is ethical and fosters pride in work. Success will be measured by the quality and strength of relationships with OAGs around the country, and the degree to which we can cooperate to bring the federal government to heel. Success will mean a more competitive marketplace, following enforcement of fair competition laws. Success will be a function of working well with state agencies to provide guidance as to the law, the Legislature, and with and against other executive offices to serve as a check and balance. There is no spreadsheet or checklist of “success items,” just qualitative evaluations on every front.
Why should voters choose you over your opponents?
We need a Democratic AG nominee who:
Can beat the Republicans. I flipped a 30-year R seat by 8 points.
Understands how to use public office to deliver for people. As a state senator, I’ve fought every Democratic fight (abortion rights, voting rights, equity, equality, opposition to vouchers and gerrymandering), and brought people together to get healthcare, housing, clean air, criminal justice, renewable energy, and economic opportunity.
Has the political skill to meet the vast challenges we face. While we need to de-politicize the office, it operates in an unavoidably political environment. I’ve demonstrated the ability to stand ground, break ground, and find common ground, in a hostile political environment.
Lifts up the whole Democratic ticket. Democrats have tried the go-it-alone strategy and it hasn’t worked. For 8 years I have worked with my Democratic colleagues to prove that Democrats govern with respect, responsibility, compassion, honesty, political courage, and competence
What are Texans looking for and wanting most in their attorney general?
Texans want an attorney general who they believe will act in their best interests, in contrast to someone who uses the office for personal and political ends.
They want an attorney general who will protect them from bad corporate behavior, and who they trust will investigate and prosecute corruption and the abuse of power by anyone.
They want an attorney general who can improve public safety by working with and not against local prosecutors.
What’s the biggest challenge the next attorney general will face in Texas, and how would you address it if elected?
The biggest challenge will be to rebuild the office by recruiting the highest quality staff and attorneys, and establishing an ethical culture of serving the needs of the state rather than an ideological agenda. Paxton’s near decade of abuse of the office and neglect of its fundamental responsibilities has caused extensive damage that will take time and good leadership to repair and rebuild.
What steps would you take to promote public transparency in the Office of the Attorney General?
First of all, don’t hide misdeeds and screwups, which comes naturally by not committing misdeeds and not screwing up.
Second, I would be consistent in application of the Texas Public Information Act (see answer to Question 17, below).
Third, communicate better with state agencies and local governmental authorities (cities, school districts, counties) and with their in-house and, where applicable, outside legal counsel. Provide guidance to these entities at the outset, rather than forcing them to guess at what legal steps they must take and legal boundaries they must observe in order to perform their duties.
Fourth, hold routine town halls across the state.
Finally, conduct routine internal reviews, and explore structural and procedural changes accordingly.
Please outline your legal experience. How will that experience inform your tenure as attorney general if elected?
I’ve worked multiple decades as a commercial litigator and more recently as a mediator, in matters across a wide range of industries. I know the litigation world. Legal training and experience are of course a functional prerequisite to leading the OAG effectively. But lawyer experience is not much of a differentiator here.
The office of attorney general is, unavoidably, a political position that requires political skill. It steers public policy, ensures competitive markets, affects justice and safety and consumer welfare, protects the environment, upholds civil and political rights, advises agencies, and much more. To be effective the AG must be able to navigate a complex political environment, build coalitions, work with AGs from other states, and work both against and with the opposing political party.
My eight years of service in the state senate have afforded me skills, knowledge and perspective that will allow me to effectively lead the OAG in the public interest.
What changes, if any, should be made in the way the Office of the Attorney General handles child support payments and enforcing child support laws?
A few avenues appear likely to be helpful:
Modernize payment systems for convenience (phone apps), and work directly with employers to facilitate payroll deductions.
Modernize case management systems for interoperability and communications with courts and employers.
Increase caseworker pay and decrease caseloads, to recruit good people and retain them as they become more experienced and valuable.
Improve customer service and outreach.
Review changes and initiatives in other states that have improved collections and compliance, and determine how to incorporate similar changes in Texas, where applicable.
Offer assistance to employers.
Observing the relationship between parental contact with their children and the payment of child support obligations, facilitate and encourage parental access and involvement (when appropriate).
Social support services for noncustodial parents may improve collections and child welfare.
Track results, make changes accordingly.
In 2025, Texas Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 12, allowing the attorney general to independently prosecute election fraud. Do you support that measure, and how would you approach election-related litigation as attorney general?
Under current law the Legislature cannot, merely by passing a bill, grant to the attorney general prosecutorial authority that the Texas constitution expressly assigns to district attorneys. So we have to consider whether expansion of authority requires a constitutional amendment rather than the typical Republican tack of ramming another hollow talking point through the Legislature.
The next question is whether now is the right time to expand AG powers. Some other states grant more criminal authority to the OAG. But Ken Paxton’s grotesquely partisan weaponization of AG powers, at a time when Donald Trump brazenly weaponizes the Department of Justice, should give us pause.
A better approach would be to use current AG powers and resources more effectively to support investigations and prosecutions by district and county attorneys, including election fraud, where not incidentally the Constitution places prosecutorial authority subject to election by the voters.
The Office of the Texas Attorney General is regularly tasked with deciding whether or not records should be released through open records requests. Please describe how you’d handle open records requests as attorney general.
Start with consistency in application of the law. AG Paxton has a history of interpreting open records laws narrowly when he or other Republican leaders want to hide information from public view, and broadly when he goes hunting for information to advance right-wing narratives and persecute political opposition. The “transparency” in his approach to public information access is one-way.
I would apply the law consistently and without bias, and work within the bounds of the law to ensure public access to public information. As a state senator, I have filed seven bills aimed at making government offices more responsive to public information requests (and passed one of them).
Incidentally, during the 89th Regular Session I filed SB 1294 to codify a Public Information Act hotline, to make it easier for the public to communicate with the OAG.
This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Here are the Democratic primary runoff candidates for Texas attorney general."