TEXAS — A new name has entered the running for Texas attorney general. Dallas lawyer Anthony “Tony” Box is running to succeed Republican Ken Paxton as the state’s chief legal counsel.
Box, 57, joins a March Democratic primary that includes opponents state Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, and former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski.
“The people of Texas deserve a chief law enforcement officer that’s going to have the courage to stand with them and to fight corruption and the pressure to not bend the knee to someone in Washington, D.C,” Box said in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “I’m that guy.”
Box is a former FBI agent, military servicemember and federal prosecutor. At 16, he survived a bullet to the stomach while chasing down a purse-snatcher in Chicago.
“As I recovered in the hospital, I thought about what I wanted to do with my life,” Box said. “I decided I wanted to live a life of service. I’ve done that. I want to do more.”
As an assistant U.S. attorney, Box prosecuted tax evasion, fraud and violent crimes. He called Paxton “corrupt” and ineffective and said that ultimately pushed Box to run for office.
Paxton faced impeachment in a 2023 trial over corruption allegations after his top aides reported him to the FBI. He was ultimately acquitted, and two senators who voted to absolve him — state Sens. Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, and Joan Huffman, R-Houston — are now running to fill his post.
Paxton, who has been in office since 2015, chose not to seek reelection to launch a campaign against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary.
Now, in his bid for attorney general, Box says he would restore integrity to the office and conduct a “top to bottom review of all the lawsuits and all the action taken, and the ones that are valid will remain, and the ones that are frivolous I’ll get rid of.”