Garza beats Jaworski to clinch Dem. nomination for Texas AG

Rochelle Garza beats Joe Jaworski to clinch Democratic nomination for Texas attorney general

By Ashley McElroy Texas

UPDATED 2:22 PM CT May. 25, 2022 PUBLISHED 12:02 PM CT May 25, 2022 PUBLISHED 12:02 PM CDT May 25, 2022

AUSTIN, Texas — Brownsville attorney Rochelle Garza secured the Democratic Party nomination for Texas attorney general. She beat former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski in Tuesday’s runoff with almost 63% of the vote.

Her nomination marks the first time voters have nominated a Latina to be the Democratic nominee for attorney general. Garza now faces incumbent Ken Paxton, R-Texas, in the general election.

Garza is a civil rights lawyer who worked for the ACLU and has experience fighting Paxton in court. Most notably, she faced off against him in court in 2017 while representing an undocumented teenager who wanted to get an abortion. Garza eventually won that case in federal appeals court.

On Wednesday, Garza thanked supporters on Twitter for the nomination, and acknowledged the uphill battle she has ahead of her. A Democrat hasn’t been held the Texas attorney general title since 1994.

“I decided to run for Texas attorney general to fight for Texas families, protect our freedoms, and keep our communities safe,” she said. “Indicted Ken Paxton is corrupt and unfit to hold public office and cares more about lobbyists and donors than the lives of our children.”

While we made history, yesterday is also a sober reminder of why we need new leadership in Texas. I am deeply saddened by the news from Uvalde. Ken Paxton's call to arm more teachers only puts our children at risk and it’s time to vote him out.
— Rochelle Garza (@RochelleMGarza) May 25, 2022

Paxton has abused the AG office for political gain and forgotten the struggles of everyday Texans. That changes once we vote him out in November.
— Rochelle Garza (@RochelleMGarza) May 25, 2022

Beating Ken Paxton won't be easy. The general election starts today, and I need your support. Chip in what you can, and share with your friends.

Together we will elect the new leadership Texas deserves.https://t.co/896JNwBExW
— Rochelle Garza (@RochelleMGarza) May 25, 2022

Jaworksi also tweeted his thanks to supporters, but held off officially conceding to Garza.

The general election is Nov. 8.

I wouldn't have gotten this far without all you. I am proud of the campaign we ran for the past 22 months and am grateful for everyone's support.
— Joe Jaworski (@JaworskiForTX) May 25, 2022

I look forward to the official election results being released once all of the votes have been counted. We will wait patiently while our democratic process unfolds. Once we have the official results, I will make another statement about the status of this campaign. Thank you.
— Joe Jaworski (@JaworskiForTX) May 25, 2022

Rochelle Garza beats Joe Jaworski to clinch Democratic nomination for Texas attorney general

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