Dems’ runoff in attorney general’s race unsettled
AUSTIN — The Democratic race for Texas attorney general is headed to a May 24 runoff, but the candidates who will compete are still in question.
Former ACLU attorney Rochelle Garza, the top vote-getter in Tuesday’s primary, will face either former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski or McKinney-based civil rights attorney Lee Merritt.
Jaworski is leading Merritt by less than 1,418 votes out of more than 1 million cast, according to unofficial results posted to the Texas secretary of state’s website Friday.
On Thursday, both candidates said they’re preparing for a runoff.
The site “shows me in a runoff, so that is what I am counting on,” said Jaworski, the grandson of famed Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski. “I’m the secondplace vote-getter.”
Merritt, who’s known nationally for his work representing victims of police brutality, said he’s waiting for final numbers to come in.
Local election officials must count any outstanding mail and provisional ballots by Thursday. A statewide canvass finalizing the primary results is due by March 13, according to the secretary of state’s office. The second-place finisher will advance into the runoff with Garza.
Jaworski and Merritt rejected a proposal from the fourth-place finisher — former Republican Harris County Judge Mike Fields — to unite behind Garza and avoid a runoff altogether.
“Texas law provides for it, and it’s a new race,” Jaworski said.
“A vigorous primary, which includes a runoff, gives us a chance to get in front of the electorate as much as possible,” Merritt said. “What the numbers reflect is that a lot of people weren’t familiar with any of the candidates in the race, and I think we should take advantage of the additional time.”
Merritt has tackled a number of high-profile civil rights cases in recent years, most recently representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man from Georgia who was shot and killed after being chased by three white men while jogging one afternoon near his home in February 2020. The three were convicted of murder and federal hate crimes in separate trials and face life in prison.
The winner of the runoff will go on to face a yet-to-bedetermined Republican in November. Attorney General Ken Paxton is locked in a runoff with George P. Bush for the nomination.
On Thursday, Garza said her focus is on November.
“My concern right now is Ken Paxton,” she said. “We’ve got to gear up to fight him back.”
Democrats have not won statewide office since 1994 but see an opening to oust Paxton, whom they view as vulnerable over a slew of legal troubles.
Paxton is facing a 2015 securities fraud indictment and an FBI investigation over corruption allegations. He denies wrongdoing.