Who’s winning the Texas Attorney General primary?

AUSTIN (KXAN) — All eyes are on the crowded race for Texas’ attorney general as incumbent Ken Paxton faces Republican challengers. A Democratic primary decides who will face the victor in the Republican side in November.

While the office has been held by a Republican for decades, Democrats feel hopeful about the possibility of flipping the seat blue if Paxton is the nominee. The incumbent’s tenure has a cloud of legal troubles weighing overhead.

Both of Paxton’s Republican and Democratic opponents have often cited an outstanding indictment against him as well as an ongoing FBI investigation into allegations of abuse of office. But those legal issues don’t seem to matter to most primary voters.

See the latest election results in the Republican primary below:

Incumbent Ken Paxton has been Texas’ chief lawyer since 2015. His campaign has avoided talking about his ongoing legal issues and focuses on highlighting his performance as Attorney General. He received the coveted Trump endorsement early on, which polling shows still has strong weight with Republican primary voters.

The current land commissioner of Texas, George P. Bush, has been campaigning on restoring credibility in the Attorney General’s office, which he said has been lost during Paxton’s tenure. Bush — the nephew of former President George W. Bush and grandson of former President George H.W. Bush — was the first challenger to announce his bid.

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman is a daughter of Hispanic immigrants who came to the U.S. legally. Guzman’s campaign advertisements have focused on this being a top issue for her. Her father was killed by an undocumented immigrant who was never brought to justice, making prosecuting felonies committed by undocumented immigrants a keynote of her border policy plan.

U.S. Representative Louie Gohmert was the last Republican to throw his hat in the ring, making his announcement in November. While Gohmert has tried to tie himself to former President Donald Trump, he did not receive the official endorsement.

See the latest election results in the Republican primary below:

Former Judge Mike Fields is a former Republican-turned-Democrat who jumped in the race largely after the state’s near grid collapse during the 2021 February winter storm, saying not enough was done to hold leaders accountable.

Rochelle Garza, a civil rights attorney, touted a case she won before the U.S. Supreme Court, after defending a teenage migrant who was denied abortion access at an immigration detention center in Texas. She has also focused her campaign messaging on being someone who deeply understands Texas working families and the issues they care about, like healthcare.

Joe Jaworski has focused his campaign on returning the office to that of a consumer protection focus, rather than being the foe of the federal government.

Civil rights attorney Lee Merrit is hoping his national profile will help him earn the Democratic nomination. Merritt has worked on high-profile cases, including representing the family of Ahmaud Arbery — who was murdered by three men in Georgia in 2020. Merrit has earned endorsements from the likes of U.S. Sen. Bernie Senators of Vermont.

Aside from being listed as a candidate on the Texas Secretary of State website, S. “T-Bone” Raynor does not appear to have an official campaign website or official social media channels.