State Sen. Nathan Johnson, a Dallas Democrat, is running for Texas attorney general in the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. He faces Republican Mayes Middleton and Libertarian Tom Oxford.
Asked why he is running, Johnson said in our candidate questionnaire that he voted to convict Attorney General Ken Paxton during the 2023 impeachment trial "on 14 of 16 articles of impeachment." He said the trial "demonstrated the enormous power of the Attorney General's Office" and "convinced me that, under the right leadership, the OAG can be as powerfully good as it has been powerfully bad under Paxton."
Candidate information
Party: Democrat
Education: University of Arizona, B.S.; University of Texas, J.D.
Family: Three adult children.
Johnson represents almost a million people in Senate District 16 in Dallas County, according to his Texas Senate page. He was first elected in 2018. He practices law at Thompson Coburn LLP, specializing in trial litigation and dispute resolution. He also composed dozens of musical scores for the anime series Dragon Ball Z and classical music for the concert stage.
Experience and public service
Johnson has served as a state senator since 2019. He is vice chair of the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence and a member of the Committee on Transportation.
Asked about his qualifications, Johnson said in our questionnaire: "I've spent decades as a commercial litigator and, more recently, as a mediator, handling matters across a wide range of industries. I know the litigation world."
He added that "my eight years in the Texas Senate have given me the political skills, institutional knowledge, relationships, and perspective necessary to lead the OAG effectively and serve the public interest."
On the issues
Top priorities as attorney general: Johnson said in our questionnaire his top three priorities would be to "end corruption and rebuild the OAG," to "protect consumers and competition," and to "make government work." He said he would target "consolidation, predatory pricing, fraud, scams, and market manipulation." He said he would "audit Texas's consumer protection, competition, and employment laws and work with the Legislature to close gaps that leave Texans vulnerable."
Differences from opponents: Johnson said in our questionnaire: "We have fundamentally different approaches to the Attorney General's Office. I will use its power as the framers intended: as a check against abuse of power by anyone, in the public or private sector. My opponent has promised to use it as a tool of partisan warfare."
He added that his opponent "voted to acquit Ken Paxton on all 16 impeachment counts."
Consumer protection: Johnson said in our questionnaire that "the Trump administration has severely weakened federal consumer protection, leaving state attorneys general to fill the gap." He said he would work "with AGs of either party to combat fintech abuses, elder fraud, charity scams, crypto schemes, price fixing, deceptive pricing, and junk fees."
He cited Senate legislation he advanced on "payday lending, insurance and roofing fraud, competition, ticket sales, data brokers, and social media," as well as a law "protecting vulnerable adults from AI-enabled financial exploitation."
Federal government lawsuits: Johnson said in our questionnaire: "I will sue or join multistate litigation whenever the federal government violates federal law, regulations, or the Constitution and harms Texans." He added that "my relationship with the federal government will not be antagonistic for its own sake or driven by partisan theatrics."
Child support: Johnson said in our questionnaire he would "modernize Texas's child support system to improve collections, compliance, and service for families," including upgrading payment systems, increasing caseworker pay and reducing caseloads.
Johnson has received endorsements from the Texas State Teachers Association, the Texas Association of Business PAC, the Texas Farm Bureau Friends of Agriculture Fund, the AFL-CIO and TEXPAC, according to BallotReady data.
