Texas Democrat wins attorney general race in major upset

Nathan Johnson has claimed victory in the race for Texas attorney general, a result that shifts the state's top legal office to Democratic control for the first time since 1994.

The Dallas state senator and corporate litigator defeated Mayes Middleton, an oil and gas heir who had campaigned on his close relationship with President Donald Trump. According to a spokesperson for Johnson's campaign, Middleton called the winner to concede the race.

Texas has long served as a primary driver of conservative legal strategy. As the largest attorney general's office in a red state, it has played a major role in shaping national jurisprudence alongside similar offices in California and New York. Under previous Republican leadership, the agency focused heavily on advancing conservative causes through the courts for state administrations and private right-wing groups.

Middleton ran on a platform of continuing this partisan approach. He promised to use every resource to support the president's border and deportation efforts. To reach the general election, Middleton spent nearly $20 million of his own money to defeat U.S. Representative Chip Roy in the primary and runoff. During the general election, he pulled back on spending as attention shifted to other high-profile races.

Johnson took a different approach in his campaign. He ran advertisements that emphasized the office's traditional duties, such as consumer protection, anti-corruption, and child support enforcement. Johnson stated he will sue the Trump administration when he believes the federal government is overstepping its authority in Texas.

Before the election, Johnson told The Texas Tribune that his strategy was to let his opponent be "crazy and unproductive" while he positioned himself as the serious candidate. He argued that voters were tired of being treated like they were stupid.

This victory marks a second major upset for Johnson. In 2018, he defeated a well-funded conservative incumbent to flip a state senate seat that had been held by Republicans for decades. Over the next eight years, he built a reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker who secured substantive wins in a chamber dominated by the GOP. He has said he will bring that same willingness to work across the aisle to the attorney general's office.

Paul Nolette, a political scientist at Marquette University who studies attorneys general, described the change as a sea change. Nolette noted that the most immediate effect is the removal of a Republican leader from a key position in the conservative legal movement. He said this creates an open question about who will lead the Republican pack in national litigation going forward.

Nolette expects Texas to become a smaller player in national litigation, noting that California and New York already dominate that space. Johnson said this outcome fits his goals. He hopes to stay out of the political fray and focus on state-level issues.

In a statement following the election, Johnson said he believes people are hungry for very serious and substantive work from their elected officials.