Next year, Texans will go to the polls to elect a new attorney general, and for the first time in more than a decade, Ken Paxton won’t be on the ballot. This leaves a wide-open field, in which four Republicans and three Democrats will vie to become Texas’ next top lawyer.
Attorneys general have gained political prominence in recent decades, and Texas, as the largest state with a Republican attorney general, has taken the lead on advancing conservative ideology through the courts. But the agency also handles a wide range of legal issues that impact everyday life for Texans, from consumer protection to child support.
“You want to pay close attention to this office, even if you haven’t necessarily before,” said Paul Nolette, a political science professor at Marquette University who studies attorneys general. “The impact that they can have, on the state, nationally, and really on any issue that you care about, is immense.”
But what exactly does an attorney general do, and what should Texas voters consider as they go to the polls next year to select our next one?
What is an attorney general?
Every state has an attorney general. They are the state’s lawyer, defending challenges to state agencies and statutes in court, issuing opinions interpreting state law, undertaking investigations and bringing lawsuits to protect residents of their state.
In some states, the attorney general has both civil and criminal authority. They’re the “top law enforcement official,” or “top cop.” But in Texas, the attorney general is almost entirely limited to civil matters, except for narrow circumstances, like voter fraud, where the Legislature has authorized the agency to independently pursue criminal cases. Beyond that, though, they must be invited in by local district or county attorneys to prosecute criminal cases.
Who can run for attorney general?
Any U.S. citizen over the age of 18 who has lived in the state for at least a year and is registered to vote can run for attorney general. They are not required to be a practicing lawyer, although by tradition, they are expected to have at least some legal experience.
Unlike the federal attorney general, who is appointed by the president to run the Department of Justice and can be removed at any time, the Texas attorney general is independently elected and can only be removed by voters, or by the Legislature via impeachment.
What types of cases does Texas’ attorney general handle?
Texas has one of the largest attorney general’s offices in the country, with more than 4,000 employees, including 750 lawyers, most of whom handle nonpartisan legal affairs for the state.
The agency investigates and litigates allegations of waste, fraud and abuse, especially of state funds, like within the Medicaid program. A key function of the agency is consumer protection, ensuring Texans aren’t being taken advantage of by deceptive charities, unscrupulous businesses, fraudulent billing or violations of antitrust laws.
The Office of the Attorney General also serves as legal counsel to state agencies, or coordinates with agencies that have their own lawyers, to defend against lawsuits ranging from personal injury to workers’ compensation to civil rights violations, as well as defending agency rules and state laws against legal challenges.
The attorney general’s office is also responsible for enforcing child support judgements, providing compensation for crime victims and overseeing a task force that coordinates the state’s anti-human trafficking efforts.
What is the agency’s political function?
The joke about attorneys general used to be that “AG” stood for “aspiring governor.” The job was seen as a relatively boring political stepping stone to higher office, with Paxton’s six predecessors each going on to run for governor or Senate.
“Now, the position has become, in a lot of ways, a destination in itself,” said Nolette. “It is arguably the most powerful position in state government, because of the independence of the office, and the wide discretion the AG has to pursue an agenda.”
This started in the late 1980s, with states teaming up to sue major tobacco companies, and got a boost when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that states had “special solicitude” to bring lawsuits against the federal government. States now appear before the Supreme Court more than any other party other than the federal government.
Paxton proudly sued the Biden administration more than 100 times on immigration policy, abortion, environmental protections and gender issues. The state brought these actions in single-judge courts appointed by Republican presidents, ensuring a more receptive audience.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Paxton has refocused on suing immigrant-serving nonprofits, big tech companies and even Texas’ own state agencies over policies he says are discriminatory against Christians.
The Republicans who are running to replace Paxton have all vowed to continue this work, to varying degrees, while the Democrats have promised to undo most of these efforts.
What is the state of the office the new attorney general will inherit?
The Texas Office of the Attorney General has radically changed under Paxton, due in no small part to chaos at the top. Paxton came into office under a cloud of legal troubles, which only grew when eight top deputies went to the FBI, accusing him of using the office to help a political donor and cover up an extramarital affair. In 2023, the Texas House voted to impeach him; he was later acquitted by the state Senate.
Paxton has repeatedly won reelection, despite these challenges, but reporting has shown how this political upheaval has impacted the agency’s day-to-day.
In the Civil Medicaid Fraud unit, a once-nationally recognized team that works to recover misused state funds, nearly two-thirds of the lawyers left after a beloved chief was ousted by agency leadership. Dysfunction at the Crime Victims’ Compensation unit has delayed payments and retraumatized crime survivors, KXAN reported. The human trafficking unit had to drop cases after they lost victims due to staff turnover, and the office closed just four human trafficking cases over a two-year span during the COVID pandemic, per the Associated Press and Houston Chronicle.
Under Paxton, the attorney general’s office also declined to represent state agencies at least 75 times in two years, forcing agencies to hire outside counsel for cases that otherwise would have been handled in-house at lower costs. His office has also hired pricey outside lawyers for major litigation against Big Tech and pharmaceutical companies.
Meanwhile, other facets of the agency’s work have been reinvigorated. Beyond his legal offensive against corporations and nonprofits, Paxton has also gone after Democratic lawmakers who left the state to hold off the GOP’s summer redistricting push, along with the political groups that supported them. The Legislature also recently empowered the attorney general to prosecute election-related offenses without waiting for the invitation of a local district or county attorney, a tool some of the Republican candidates have vowed to use aggressively.
Who is running?
On the Republican side, a major fight is brewing over who will get to run the conservative movement’s most powerful state-run legal machine.
U.S. Chip Roy, who currently represents a swath of Central Texas, is leading the pack. Roy, R-Austin, worked as Paxton’s deputy during his first term, but has since fallen out with his old boss; he was among the first people to call for Paxton to resign after his employees reported him to the FBI. Roy has been endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz, for whom he previously worked as chief of staff.
Aaron Reitz is another former Paxton deputy and ex-chief of staff for Cruz. Paxton has endorsed Reitz to succeed him, and Reitz has centered his campaign around his loyalty to his former boss, along with his experience as the “offensive coordinator” behind many of the agency’s lawsuits against the Biden administration.
State Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Galveston Republican who is one of the Legislature’s most conservative members, is also running and has garnered many endorsements from his legislator colleagues. State Sen. Joan Huffman of Houston is running on her experience as a judge and prosecutor, promising to strengthen the agency’s criminal apparatus, which is largely restricted to partnerships with local officials.
On the Democratic side, all three candidates have vociferously condemned Paxton’s running of the office, accusing him of using his position to advance his own political and personal goals. State Sen. Nathan Johnson has represented Dallas in the state Legislature since 2019. Joe Jaworski served as Galveston mayor and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 2022. And Tony Box, a political newcomer, is a Dallas attorney and veteran who has served as a federal prosecutor in Missouri.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
