Nathan Johnson Wins Texas Attorney General Race in Upset Over Mayes Middleton

Nathan Johnson has won the race for Texas attorney general. The Texas Tribune reported that the Democrat defeated Republican Mayes Middleton, in a report republished by South Texas News and by T-SPAN. Johnson, a Dallas state senator and corporate litigator, is the first Democrat elected Texas attorney general since 1994.

Middleton called Johnson to concede, according to a spokesperson for Johnson's campaign, as The Texas Tribune reported. Unofficial Texas Secretary of State totals carried by Lubbock Lights, updated at 11:33 p.m. CST on Tuesday, November 3, showed Johnson with 4,284,637 votes, 52.68 percent, to 3,726,113 votes, 45.81 percent, for Middleton. Those totals are an unofficial snapshot and will change as counting finishes.

The Democratic Attorneys General Association marked the result early on Wednesday. In a statement issued at 04:22 UTC on November 4, the association celebrated Johnson as attorney general-elect and called him the first Democrat to serve as Texas attorney general in nearly three decades, under the heading of a flipped seat. High Plains Pundit published the first win report the newsroom found, at 10:40 p.m. CST on November 3, and called the result one of the biggest political upsets in Texas history.

The call rests on the Tribune report, the concession and the Secretary of State totals. The Decision Desk HQ Texas page read early on Wednesday still showed Johnson as the leader only, at 85 percent of the vote in, with no winner marked, so this report does not attribute the call to Decision Desk HQ.

Middleton, an oil and gas heir, tied himself closely to President Donald Trump during the campaign. He spent close to 20 million dollars of his own money to defeat United States Representative Chip Roy in the Republican primary and the runoff, according to the Tribune. That spending was not enough to hold the office for his party in the general election.

Johnson goes into the office with a stated set of priorities. According to the Tribune, he vowed to focus on consumer protection, anti-corruption work and child support enforcement. He also said his office will sue the Trump administration when he believes the federal government is overstepping in Texas. The attorney general is the state's top law enforcement officer, and the office represents Texas in court, collects child support and opines on state law for agencies and officials.

The totals in this report are the unofficial snapshot updated at 11:33 p.m. CST on November 3 and carried by Lubbock Lights. They are not final certified results, and the figures will move as the remaining ballots are counted and the count is completed.