AUSTIN, Texas — The Democratic nominee for Texas attorney general has been decided. Rochelle Garza has defeated Joe Jaworski in the primary runoff election for the Democratic nomination.
Garza will now face the Republican nominee, incumbent Ken Paxton, in the general election later this year.
Garza and Jaworski went to a runoff after neither secured 50% of the vote in the March 1 Texas primary election. In March, Garza received 43% of the vote, while Jaworski received 19.8%. In the runoff election on May 24, Garza received 62% of the vote and Jaworksi received 38%, as of 10:20 p.m. on Tuesday.
Garza was raised in Brownsville, Texas. She graduated from the University of Houston Law Center and from Brown University with honors. She has served as a staff attorney for the ACLU of Texas and a managing partner of Garza & Garza Law PLLC.
Her work as a civil rights lawyer has included, among other things, fighting for the reproductive rights of teens in detention. According to her website, she has received national, state and local recognition for her work.
Garza’s website states that her primary issues include health care, protecting civil rights, consumer protection, legalizing cannabis and immigration and the border. Earlier this month, Garza spoke with KVUE about her run for attorney general.
“We need a real voice that understands what people are going through and that could actually fight for civil rights, make sure that people have access to health care, that their right to access the ballot box is respected. We need somebody who's going to protect workers’ rights. And those are the things that that I bring to the table,” Garza told KVUE.
Garza is vying to take over an office that has faced its share of controversies in recent years. Most recently, current AG Paxton announced that the state bar is suing him for professional misconduct related to his lawsuit challenging the 2020 presidential election. Separately, he faces multiple other scandals.
Paxton continues to fight a 7-year-old securities fraud case for which he was indicted on felony charges. Last year, he came under FBI investigation for abuse of office after eight of his former employees accused him of bribery. He is also asking the Texas Supreme Court to throw out a whistleblower case against him by four of those former employees, who allege they were fired after they reported Paxton.
Garza will face Paxton for attorney general in the general election on Nov. 8.
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