Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski advanced from the March 1 Democratic primary for Texas attorney general when third-place finisher Lee Merritt conceded his spot in the runoff on March 10. Garza finished first in the primary with 43.0% of the vote and Jaworski received 19.7%. Merritt finished in third place with 19.4%, Mike Fields was fourth with 12.3%, and S. T-Bone Raynor was fifth with 5.5%.
Because no candidate won more than 50% of the votes cast, Garza and Jaworski will meet in a May 24 primary runoff election.
Garza is a former attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union who originally announced she would run for Texas’ 34th Congressional District. After Texas enacted new congressional district maps in October 2021, Garza decided to run for attorney general instead. In an interview with The Texas Tribune, Garza said, “Given my background, my work, I believe that this race is the right place to be. I also believe that if we’re gonna change anything in Texas, it’s gonna have to come at the state level because we’ve seen the damage that the governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general have done to this state and the harm they’ve done to the people.”
