State Sen. Nathan Johnson First Democrat to Enter Texas Attorney General Race

State Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas on Tuesday announced he will run for Texas attorney general, becoming the first Democrat in the contest to replace Republican Ken Paxton.

"It has been so long since we had an attorney general that viewed that office as being the attorney for the people of the state of Texas that I think people don't even have that expectation anymore," Johnson said. "One of my goals as attorney general will be to restore people's understanding of and faith in that office."

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Paxton is mounting a GOP primary challenge to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 election instead of seeking another term of attorney general. There are already a slew of competitors running for his job on the GOP side: state Sens. Mayes Middleton, of Galveston; and Joan Huffman, of Houston; and former U.S. Department of Justice official Aaron Reitz.

Johnson, a lawyer and mediator, was first elected to the state Senate in 2018 when he flipped a Republican-held seat. He said he is running because Texas needs an attorney general who will be a lawyer for all citizens, "irrespective of their ideology."

Paxton, who was impeached by the Texas House and later acquitted by the state Senate for alleged abuse of office, has not been doing that, Johnson said. Instead, Johnson said he’s used the office for "right-wing order taking from D.C. institutions" and allowed it to be "abused for personal purposes and political gain."

The attorney general acts as the state’s lawyer, and some of Paxton’s highest profile lawsuits have included challenging former President Joe Biden’s agenda and policies carried out by liberal-leaning cities.

Johnson said he’s able to work across the aisle and pointed to his legislative accomplishments over six years in office as proof. As a member of the minority party in the GOP-led state Senate, he has passed over 100 bills, he said.

In 2021, he passed a bill that gave the state power back from the federal government to regulate health insurance premiums and allowed an estimated 350,000 previously uninsured Texans to get coverage using federal subsidies.

He was also one of the authors of a 2021 bill that created new regulations on the sale of e-cigarettes, similar to existing ones for tobacco cigarettes, in an effort to prevent underage sales.

As vice-chair of the Senate’s Jurisprudence Committee, Johnson is one of only a few Democrats appointed by the lieutenant governor to such a role. He also serves as a member of a number of others, including Business and Commerce, Transportation, and Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs.

Johnson is not up for reelection until 2028, meaning he will not need to give up his Senate seat if he fails to win the Democratic nomination for attorney general in the 2026 primary election.