AUSTIN — State Sen. Nathan Johnson says former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski is a perpetual election loser. Jaworski calls Johnson “MAGA’s favorite Democrat.”
Both face off in the Democratic runoff for attorney general May 26, selling themselves as the best choice to break more than 30 years of Republican control of the influential state office.
The winner will take on either state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Houston or U.S. Rep. Chip Roy of Austin, who are tangled in a runoff for the GOP nomination.
At stake is an office that wields outsized influence over national policy. With about 4,000 employees, it enforces child support laws, protects consumers, defends the state in lawsuits and provides legal guidance to state agencies.
Political Points
Johnson, a three-term Dallas senator, fell 2 percentage points shy of the 50% needed to secure the nomination outright in the March 3 primary. Jaworski took second with 26%, edging former FBI agent Tony Box by 1 point.
Johnson and Jaworski share a message of restoring integrity to an attorney general’s office rocked by scandal, impeachment and partisan policy under Republican Ken Paxton, now challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.
Both Democrats pitch a break from the past, even as they trade sharp attacks over who’s better suited.
“My opponent just likes to run for office, that’s clear,” Johnson said in an interview, “but he’s lost three of his last four elections, and now he’s on his fifth one.”
Jaworski ran for attorney general in 2022, losing in a runoff to Rochelle Garza. He lost a bid for a state Senate seat in 2008. Galveston voters elected him mayor in 2008, but did not return him to office in 2012.
Jaworski countered that Johnson is a “less-than-progressive candidate.”
He’s pointed to Johnson’s votes in the Senate, which have included supporting Republican-backed legislation to restrict voting to U.S. citizens, prohibit SNAP purchases of so-called junk food and limit which flags can be displayed on public campuses.
“I want to see an unapologetic, full-throated Democrat installed as the attorney general, and I very firmly believe I am that candidate,” Jaworski said.
No endorsement
Neither will get an endorsement from Box, the former FBI agent and Dallas tax law attorney. Box said in an interview he’s decided not to take a side.
“I don’t want to put my thumb on the scale for either one,” he said. “They both bring something to the table, and I don’t have a strong favorite…so I decided to remain neutral.”
Box said he will support the Democratic nominee in the general election.
On the campaign trail, Johnson touts his record of beating Republicans. In 2018, he flipped a Dallas-area GOP seat, knocking out Sen. Don Huffines.
His win temporarily pushed the GOP-dominated chamber into a more moderate stance after Democrats closed the party gap in 2018.
Johnson, who has outraised his opponent, has cited legislation he’s passed expanding health care and stabilizing the electric grid, while pledging consumer protection, public safety and defending the state against federal overreach.
Jaworski said he is the most qualified candidate, citing his experience leading disaster recovery efforts in Galveston after Hurricane Ike and his more than 35 years as a litigator.
Upset looming?
Both Democrats see an opening for a November upset. Middleton and Roy have embraced more conservative positions and show no sign of moderating before the likely low-turnout runoff.
Middleton has leaned into his “MAGA Mayes” branding and personal spending to boost his message, while Roy has emphasized his record in Congress advancing Trump-backed policies, including a nationwide voter ID proposal.
Democrats say the tone of the GOP race plays to their advantage.
“The path to victory is to let them be nuts and unproductive, hang it on them and run from my side as the serious guy,” Johnson said.
Jaworski agreed. He said Republicans have “achieved such a level of desperate meanness” that rivals Sen. Joseph McCarthy, known for anti-communist witch hunts in the 1950s.
That kind of politics should be mocked and “just shove it right back in their face,” Jaworski said. “It’s got to be witheringly ridiculed, because good people are sick and tired.”