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Texas Attorney General election, 2022 (May 24 Republican primary runoff)

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2026
2018
Texas Attorney General
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Democratic primary
Democratic primary runoff
Republican primary
Republican primary runoff
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 13, 2021
Primary: March 1, 2022
Primary runoff: May 24, 2022
General: November 8, 2022

Pre-election incumbent(s):
Ken Paxton (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Voting in Texas
Ballotpedia analysis
Federal and state primary competitiveness
State executive elections in 2022
Impact of term limits in 2022
State government trifectas
State government triplexes
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
Texas
executive elections
Governor

Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Comptroller
State Board of Education (15 seats)
Agriculture Commissioner
Public Lands Commissioner
Railroad Commissioner

Incumbent Ken Paxton defeated George P. Bush in the May 24 Republican Party primary runoff for Texas attorney general. In the March 1 primary, Paxton received 42.7% of the vote, while Bush received 22.4%. Both candidates advanced to a runoff because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote.

Paxton was first elected attorney general in 2014. He ran unchallenged in the Republican primary in 2018 and subsequently defeated Justin Nelson (D) in the general election, winning 50.6% of the vote to Nelson's 47.0%. In June 2021, former President Donald Trump (R) endorsed Paxton's re-election effort. In a statement, Paxton said, "As the values conservative endorsed by President Trump, I am proud of my record standing up to and defeating the Biden Administration - repeatedly. I stand by my record and values, and ask each voter to join President Trump in standing with me for a safer and stronger Texas.”[1][2]

Paxton ran on his record as attorney general—a record he said includes challenging the Biden administration in court and guarding religious freedom. In the March 1 primary, Paxton's competitors—including Bush, as well as Eva Guzman and Louie Gohmert, who lost in the primary—said allegations that Paxton engaged in criminal misconduct make him unfit for office.[3] In 2015, Paxton was indicted on three counts related to securities fraud violations. At the time of the primary runoff, the case was still open, and no trial had been scheduled.[4] In 2020, the FBI opened an investigation into claims that Paxton used the Office of the Attorney General to benefit a political donor.[5] Paxton denied wrongdoing in both cases.[6]

At the time of the election, Bush was the Texas Land Commissioner, a position to which he was first elected in 2014. Bush said that as attorney general, he would secure the border, support law enforcement, jail human traffickers, and restore integrity to the office.[7] He said he was running because "Texans deserve a top advocate that's above reproach, not under indictment, focused on the job, going to defend our state against federal overreach, but also take on progressive mayors that are doing everything, for example, here in Austin, such as defunding the police."[8] The month before Trump endorsed Paxton, Trump said he would soon endorse a candidate in the race and that he "liked [both Bush and Paxton] very much."[9]

The attorney general is an executive office that serves as the chief legal advisor and chief law enforcement officer for the state government and is empowered to prosecute violations of state law, represent the state in legal disputes, and issue legal advice to state agencies and the legislature. In most states, the attorney general has a substantial influence on a state's approach to law enforcement.

At the time of the runoff election, Texas had had a Republican attorney general since 1999.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary runoff election

Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of Texas

Incumbent Ken Paxton defeated George P. Bush in the Republican primary runoff for Attorney General of Texas on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton
 
68.0
 
633,223
Image of George P. Bush
George P. Bush
 
32.0
 
298,577

Total votes: 931,800
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff compiled a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[10]

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Image of Ken Paxton

WebsiteFacebookTwitterYouTube

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: Yes

Political Office: 

  • Texas Attorney General (Assumed office: 2015)
  • Texas State Senate (2013-2015)

Biography:  Paxton earned a bachelor's degree and M.B.A. from Baylor University in 1985 and 1985, respectively, and a J.D. from the University of Virginia Law School in 1991. Paxton's professional experience includes working as an attorney for Strasburger and Price, L.L.P. and starting his own law firm. He has also been a management consultant with Arthur Andersen and in-house legal counsel for J.C. Penney Company, Inc.



Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.


Paxton said the U.S. Constitution is under assault. He said, "As Attorney General, not only do I pledge to defend the Constitution which I am sworn to protect, but I also promise to have the courage to advance the principles it stands for."


Paxton said he believes he has a moral obligation to defend people's First Amendment right to religious freedom. 


Paxton said he is making border security a top priority. 


Show sources

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Texas in 2022.

Image of George P. Bush

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Texas Land Commissioner (Assumed office: 2015)

Biography:  Bush earned a bachelor's degree in history from Rice University in 1998 and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2003. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve from 2007 to 2017. Bush's professional experiences includes practicing corporate and securities law with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP and co-founding a real estate private equity firm and an investment firm.



Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.


Bush said his first priority is reforming asylum laws, completing the border wall, and reimplementing migrant protection protocols and the remain in Mexico policy. 


Bush said he will improve government accountability by reducing bureaucracy, recruiting conservative attorneys to defend Texans' rights, and develop relationships with District Attorneys around the state to increase criminal prosecutions. 


Bush said he would support anti-human trafficking efforts and defend law enforcement. 


Show sources

This information was current as of the candidate's run for Attorney General of Texas in 2022.

Campaign advertisements

Republican Party George P. Bush

May 18, 2022
May 18, 2022
May 18, 2022

View more ads here:


Republican Party Ken Paxton

February 8, 2022
May 13, 2022
May 19, 2022

View more ads here:


News and conflicts in this primary

This race was featured in The Heart of the Primaries, a newsletter capturing stories related to conflicts within each major party. Click here to read more about conflict in this and other 2022 Republican attorney general primaries. Click here to subscribe to the newsletter.

Noteworthy endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section lists noteworthy endorsements issued in this election, including those made by high-profile individuals and organizations, cross-party endorsements, and endorsements made by newspaper editorial boards. It also includes a bulleted list of links to official lists of endorsements for any candidates who published that information on their campaign websites. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. If you are aware of endorsements that should be included, please click here.

Republican primary runoff endorsements
Endorser Republican Party Ken Paxton Republican Party George P. Bush
Government officials
U.S. Representative Kay Granger (R)  source  
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R)  source  
State Rep. E. Sam Harless (R)  source  
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker  source  
Individuals
Frmr. Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos  source  
Frmr. U.S. Representative Ted Poe  source  
Frmr. U.S. President Donald Trump  source  
Organizations
National Border Patrol Council  source  

Election competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Election spending

Campaign finance

The tables below contain data from financial reports submitted to state agencies. The data is gathered and made available by Transparency USA. Transparency USA tracks loans separately from total contributions. View each candidates’ loan totals, if any, by clicking “View More” in the table below and learn more about this data here.

Election analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about demographics, past elections, and partisan control of the state.

  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the state.
  • Statewide elections - Information about recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections in the state.
  • State partisanship - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.
  • Demographics - Information about the state's demographics and how they compare to the country as a whole.

Presidential elections

See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas and The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Cook PVI by congressional district

Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index for Texas, 2022
District Incumbent Party PVI
Texas' 1st Open Ends.png Republican R+26
Texas' 2nd Daniel Crenshaw Ends.png Republican R+15
Texas' 3rd Open Ends.png Republican R+11
Texas' 4th Pat Fallon Ends.png Republican R+16
Texas' 5th Lance Gooden Ends.png Republican R+14
Texas' 6th Jake Ellzey Ends.png Republican R+15
Texas' 7th Lizzie Pannill Fletcher Electiondot.png Democratic D+13
Texas' 8th Open Ends.png Republican R+16
Texas' 9th Al Green Electiondot.png Democratic D+26
Texas' 10th Michael McCaul Ends.png Republican R+13
Texas' 11th August Pfluger Ends.png Republican R+23
Texas' 12th Kay Granger Ends.png Republican R+12
Texas' 13th Ronny Jackson Ends.png Republican R+26
Texas' 14th Randy Weber Ends.png Republican R+17
Texas' 15th Open Electiondot.png Democratic R+1
Texas' 16th Veronica Escobar Electiondot.png Democratic D+17
Texas' 17th Pete Sessions Ends.png Republican R+14
Texas' 18th Sheila Jackson Lee Electiondot.png Democratic D+23
Texas' 19th Jodey Arrington Ends.png Republican R+26
Texas' 20th Joaquin Castro Electiondot.png Democratic D+15
Texas' 21st Chip Roy Ends.png Republican R+13
Texas' 22nd Troy Nehls Ends.png Republican R+11
Texas' 23rd Tony Gonzales Ends.png Republican R+5
Texas' 24th Beth Van Duyne Ends.png Republican R+10
Texas' 25th Roger Williams Ends.png Republican R+19
Texas' 26th Michael Burgess Ends.png Republican R+13
Texas' 27th Michael Cloud Ends.png Republican R+13
Texas' 28th Henry Cuellar Electiondot.png Democratic D+3
Texas' 29th Sylvia Garcia Electiondot.png Democratic D+18
Texas' 30th Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+27
Texas' 31st John Carter Ends.png Republican R+14
Texas' 32nd Colin Allred Electiondot.png Democratic D+14
Texas' 33rd Marc Veasey Electiondot.png Democratic D+24
Texas' 34th Mayra Flores / Vicente Gonzalez Jr. Ends.png Republican D+9
Texas' 35th Open Electiondot.png Democratic D+21
Texas' 36th Brian Babin Ends.png Republican R+18
Texas' 37th Lloyd Doggett Electiondot.png Democratic D+24
Texas' 38th New Seat N/A R+12


2020 presidential results by 2022 congressional district lines

2020 presidential results in congressional districts based on 2022 district lines, Texas[11]
District Joe Biden Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
Texas' 1st 26.5% 72.4%
Texas' 2nd 37.9% 60.7%
Texas' 3rd 42.0% 56.4%
Texas' 4th 36.4% 62.4%
Texas' 5th 38.2% 60.6%
Texas' 6th 37.4% 61.3%
Texas' 7th 64.2% 34.5%
Texas' 8th 35.8% 63.0%
Texas' 9th 76.2% 22.8%
Texas' 10th 39.8% 58.6%
Texas' 11th 29.1% 69.5%
Texas' 12th 40.1% 58.3%
Texas' 13th 26.5% 72.0%
Texas' 14th 35.0% 63.6%
Texas' 15th 48.1% 51.0%
Texas' 16th 67.0% 31.5%
Texas' 17th 38.0% 60.5%
Texas' 18th 73.6% 25.1%
Texas' 19th 26.2% 72.4%
Texas' 20th 65.8% 32.7%
Texas' 21st 39.4% 59.1%
Texas' 22nd 41.3% 57.4%
Texas' 23rd 45.8% 52.9%
Texas' 24th 43.0% 55.4%
Texas' 25th 33.8% 64.9%
Texas' 26th 40.0% 58.6%
Texas' 27th 38.1% 60.6%
Texas' 28th 52.9% 45.9%
Texas' 29th 67.8% 31.0%
Texas' 30th 77.8% 21.0%
Texas' 31st 39.0% 59.2%
Texas' 32nd 65.7% 32.7%
Texas' 33rd 74.2% 24.4%
Texas' 34th 57.3% 41.8%
Texas' 35th 71.7% 26.5%
Texas' 36th 33.6% 65.2%
Texas' 37th 75.5% 22.7%
Texas' 38th 40.2% 58.4%


2012-2020

How a state's counties vote in a presidential election and the size of those counties can provide additional insights into election outcomes at other levels of government including statewide and congressional races. Below, four categories are used to describe each county's voting pattern over the 2012, 2016, and 2020 presidential elections: Solid, Trending, Battleground, and New. Click [show] on the table below for examples:


Following the 2020 presidential election, 45.5% of Texans lived in one of the state's 18 Solid Democratic counties, which voted for the Democratic presidential candidate in every election from 2012 to 2020, and 40.1% lived in one of 223 Solid Republican counties. Overall, Texas was Solid Republican, having voted for Mitt Romney (R) in 2012, Donald Trump (R) in 2016, and Donald Trump (R) in 2020. Use the table below to view the total number of each type of county in Texas following the 2020 election as well as the overall percentage of the state population located in each county type.

Historical voting trends

Texas presidential election results (1900-2020)

  • 16 Democratic wins
  • 15 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Winning Party D D D D D D D R D D D D D R R D D D R D R R R R R R R R R R R

Statewide elections

This section details the results of the five most recent U.S. Senate and gubernatorial elections held in the state.

U.S. Senate elections

See also: List of United States Senators from Texas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent U.S. Senate races in Texas.

U.S. Senate election results in Texas
Race Winner Runner up
2020 53.5%Republican Party 43.9%Democratic Party
2018 50.9%Republican Party 48.3%Democratic Party
2014 61.6%Republican Party 34.4%Democratic Party
2012 56.5%Republican Party 40.7%Democratic Party
2008 54.8%Republican Party 42.8%Democratic Party
Average 55.5 42.0

Gubernatorial elections

See also: Governor of Texas

The table below details the vote in the five most recent gubernatorial elections in Texas.

Gubernatorial election results in Texas
Race Winner Runner up
2018 55.8%Republican Party 42.5%Democratic Party
2014 59.3%Republican Party 38.9%Democratic Party
2010 55.0%Republican Party 42.3%Democratic Party
2006 39.0%Republican Party 29.8%Democratic Party
2002 57.8%Republican Party 40.0%Democratic Party
Average 53.4 38.7

State partisanship

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Texas' congressional delegation as of November 2022.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Texas, November 2022
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 12 12
Republican 2 24 26
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 36 38

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Texas' top four state executive offices as of November 2022.

State executive officials in Texas, November 2022
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Greg Abbott
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Dan Patrick
Secretary of State Republican Party John Scott
Attorney General Republican Party Ken Paxton

State legislature

The tables below highlight the partisan composition of the Texas State Legislature as of November 2022.

Texas State Senate

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 13
     Republican Party 18
     Vacancies 0
Total 31

Texas House of Representatives

Party As of November 2022
     Democratic Party 65
     Republican Party 83
     Vacancies 2
Total 150

Trifecta control

As of November 2022, Texas was a Republican trifecta, with majorities in both chambers of the state legislature and control of the governorship. The table below displays the historical trifecta status of the state.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2022
Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Governor D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Demographics

The table below details demographic data in Texas and compares it to the broader United States as of 2019.

Demographic Data for Texas
Texas United States
Population 25,145,561 308,745,538
Land area (sq mi) 261,266 3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White 74% 72.5%
Black/African American 12.1% 12.7%
Asian 4.8% 5.5%
Native American 0.5% 0.8%
Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.2%
Other (single race) 5.8% 4.9%
Multiple 2.7% 3.3%
Hispanic/Latino 39.3% 18%
Education
High school graduation rate 83.7% 88%
College graduation rate 29.9% 32.1%
Income
Median household income $61,874 $62,843
Persons below poverty level 14.7% 13.4%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2010). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2014-2019).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.


Election history

2018

See also: Texas Attorney General election, 2018

General election

General election for Attorney General of Texas

Incumbent Ken Paxton defeated Justin Nelson and Michael Ray Harris in the general election for Attorney General of Texas on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton (R)
 
50.6
 
4,193,207
Image of Justin Nelson
Justin Nelson (D)
 
47.0
 
3,898,098
Michael Ray Harris (L)
 
2.4
 
201,310

Total votes: 8,292,615
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Attorney General of Texas

Justin Nelson advanced from the Democratic primary for Attorney General of Texas on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Justin Nelson
Justin Nelson

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Attorney General of Texas

Incumbent Ken Paxton advanced from the Republican primary for Attorney General of Texas on March 6, 2018.

Candidate
Image of Ken Paxton
Ken Paxton

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Texas

Michael Ray Harris defeated Jamar Osborne in the Libertarian convention for Attorney General of Texas on April 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Michael Ray Harris (L)
 
90.4
 
236
Jamar Osborne (L)
 
9.6
 
25

Total votes: 261
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Texas attorney general election, 2014

Republican Ken Paxton won election on November 4, 2014.

Attorney General of Texas, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngKen Paxton 58.8% 2,742,646
     Democrat Sam Houston 38% 1,773,108
     Libertarian Jamie Balagia 2.5% 118,186
     Green Jamar Osborne 0.6% 29,590
Total Votes 4,663,530
Election results via Texas Secretary of State

Full history



2022 battleground elections

See also: Battlegrounds

This election was a battleground race. Other 2022 battleground elections included:

See also

Texas State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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Texas State Executive Offices
Texas State Legislature
Texas Courts
2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Texas elections: 2025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Party control of state government
State government trifectas
State of the state addresses
Partisan composition of governors

External links

Footnotes

  1. Spectrum News 1, "What a crowded Republican primary could mean for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton," September 16, 2021
  2. Associated Press, "Trump endorses Paxton for 3rd term as Texas attorney general," July 26, 2021
  3. Click2Houston, "Republican primary for attorney general heats up, with challengers taking aim at Ken Paxton’s legal troubles," December 15, 2021
  4. The Texas Standard, "Criminal Case Against Texas Attorney General Hits Six-Year Mark," July 28, 2021
  5. The Texas Tribune, "FBI is investigating Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, AP report says," November 17, 2020
  6. TexasMonthly, "The Republican Race for Attorney General Will Be the Weirdest, Wildest—And Most Telling—Texas Election in 2022," January 10, 2022
  7. KXAN, "Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush formally files to join attorney general race," November 15, 2021
  8. KVUE, "Texas This Week: Attorney general candidates George P. Bush and Eva Guzman," January 30, 2022
  9. The Texas Tribune, "Donald Trump says he'll endorse in likely primary battle for Texas attorney general between Ken Paxton, George P. Bush," May 25, 2021
  10. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  11. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020, 2016, and 2012," accessed September 9, 2022