Two former Texas Supreme Court justices appointed by Republican governors are endorsing Democratic attorney general nominee Nathan Johnson over their party’s pick, Mayes Middleton.
The race to replace outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton as Texas’ top lawyer is, like many races this cycle, running tighter than usual. While Republicans have held the seat since John Cornyn was elected in 1998, several polls have Johnson within five points of Middleton.
Tom Phillips, who broke the Democrats’ stranglehold on the high court with his appointment as chief justice in 1987, and Deborah Hankinson, an appointee of then-Gov. George W. Bush, say they support Johnson’s nonpartisan approach to the agency. The attorney general’s office, which defends state agencies and statutes against legal challenges, frequently intersects with the state’s highest civil court, which has the final say on such cases.
“For attorney general, I look at who will follow the law and who will operate the office efficiently,” Phillips said. “That’s been Johnson’s emphasis, and Middleton’s has been more about using the office as a political tool to advance certain agendas.”
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