ACLU attorney Rochelle Garza and former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski are headed to a runoff in the Texas attorney general’s race.
According to Decision Desk HQ, Garza holds almost a majority of the vote with 43 percent and Jowarski follows with 19.79 percent of the vote. The two candidates were officially called after civil rights attorney Lee Merritt conceded his campaign in a press conference on Thursday in Houston.
In addition to conceding the race, Merritt also said he plans to join Garza on the campaign trail before the May 24 runoff election.
“She represents a young progressive forward thinking advocate that I wouldn’t have joined the race if she was in,” he said. “So even if we were to come out ahead I would encourage the party to get behind Rochelle Garza. And focus on actually flipping that office. That office the Democrats haven’t won in over 30 years.”
The next battle for candidacy is beating Republican incumbent Ken Paxton, who is currently being investigated by the Texas Bar Association, and has a slew of indictment charges under his belt.
The two candidates have different strategies to achieve a Democratic win in the top ticket. In an interview with the Signal on Monday, Jowarski, who identifies as a progressive, said he plans to engage with moderate Republican voters. While Garza said she plans to focus on everyday issues with an emphasis on progressive policies.
Nevertheless, all three Democratic AG candidates also emphasized the negative impacts of Senate Bill 1, Texas’ restrictive voting law, in the last election cycle.
Early voting for this race starts May 16, 2022.
Kennedy is a recent graduate of the University of St.Thomas in Houston where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the Celt Independent. Kennedy brings her experience of writing about social justice issues to the Texas Signal where she serves as our Political Reporter. She does everything from covering crime beats, Texas politics, and community activism. Kennedy is a passionate reporter, avid reader, coffee enthusiast, and loves to travel.
