Reuters reported that Democrats won attorney general races in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa and Kansas, taking control of offices that can shape state enforcement and legal challenges to President Donald Trump’s policies.
Those offices advise state agencies, set enforcement priorities and can challenge federal requirements in court. Reuters described the past decade as a period when Republican attorneys general used state offices to challenge federal rules, limit gender-affirming care, oppose diversity programs and expand gun access. Texas had served as a major base for conservative legal challenges, backed by resources and experienced staff. Conservative lawyer Mike Davis called the losses “a major setback for key conservative causes.”
In Texas, incoming Attorney General Nathan Johnson plans to reassess legal actions launched under Ken Paxton. The cases include actions involving out-of-state abortion providers, claims of a link between over-the-counter medicines and autism, and challenges to vaccine efficacy. Johnson also plans to review the state’s partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He said he would change any immigration-related role he believes detracts from the office’s proper work.
Johnson wants the office to focus more on antitrust and consumer protection and to rebuild staff after high turnover under Paxton. Paxton also lost the Texas Senate race to Democrat James Talarico, a result covered in EconoTimes’ earlier report.
In Iowa, Nate Willems said he would pursue companies responsible for pollution and restore the state office’s consumer-protection work. Ohio’s John Kulewicz made curbing corporate price gouging part of his campaign. Kansas Attorney General-elect Chris Mann said he wants a nonpartisan office and plans to examine inherited lawsuits, including a challenge to access to mifepristone, an abortion medication.
Reuters reported that two former U.S. Department of Justice officials, speaking anonymously, said conservative legal leaders were shifting their attention to Florida. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said his office would continue leading those efforts. Florida’s legal department is roughly one-third the size of Texas’.
