Meet the candidates for Texas attorney general on Nov. 8 ballot
Ken Paxton
Political Party: Republican
Did not respond.
Rochelle Mercedes Garza
Political party: Democratic
Age as of November 8, 2022: 37
Campaign website: https://www.rochellegarzafortexas.com/
Occupation: Civil Rights Attorney
Education: University of Houston Law Center, J.D. Brown University, B.A. with Honors
Have you run for elected office before? (Please list previous offices sought)
I previously ran to represent Texas’ 34th Congressional District as a Democrat before announcing my run for Texas Attorney General as a Democrat in November 2021.
Please list highlights of your civic involvement:
Board Member (February 2019 – Present), Jane’s Due Process
Chair (January 2021 - July 2021), Ethics Advisory Committee, City of Brownsville, Texas
Director (May 2018 – December 2021), Cameron County Bar Association
Advisory (June 2019-20), Laws Relating to Immigration and Nationality Standing Committee, State Bar of Texas
Board Member (January 2018 – January 2020), Moody Clinic
Who are your top three campaign contributors?
The vast majority of our contributions are under $100, so the biggest contributors are everyday Texans who believe in the power of our campaign, and who are ready to see change in the Office of the Attorney General. This is a people-powered campaign.
What is the most important distinction between you and your opponent(s)?
I’m not criminally indicted, and I believe in democracy. I’m a fifth generation Texan from the Rio Grande Valley, and the daughter of a public school teacher and a judge. I grew up in a rural community in South Texas and, like a lot of Texans, I know the challenges of living paycheck-to-paycheck, saving for a home, and struggling to find basic health care.I’m an experienced civil rights lawyer, having fought for children, immigrants, families, and reproductive rights. I took on the federal government and won, going to court in Texas and Washington D.C. to protect a woman’s right to an abortion. As Texas Attorney General, I will be a strong defender of all Texans, holding wrongdoers accountable while promoting justice for everyone – not just the privileged few. Meanwhile, Ken Paxton, our state’s top law enforcement officer, has been under felony criminal indictment for almost a decade. He’s charged with fraud for tricking people into making bad financial investments.
What are the three biggest issues in this race?
One of the greatest public service concerns in Texas is the loss of abortion care. Millions of Texans cannot access a basic reproductive medical service because Ken Paxton helped strip it away. As AG, I will work to restore abortion rights in Texas.Second, Texans are concerned with their increasingly high energy bills, and as AG, I will protect consumers and prioritize holding price-gouging corporations and the powerful accountable.Third, I will restore transparency and accountability to the AG’s office because those are the values that are critical for a functioning democracy. That means ending Ken Paxton’s culture of corruption, his pay-to-play politics, and his political stunts with our taxpayer dollars.
What should the state do to address immigration at the Texas-Mexico border? How can the attorney general’s office assist with this goal?
As an immigration attorney and border native, I understand the complexities of our immigration system, and the impact they have on the people of this state. I know we can fight human, gun and drug trafficking at the border and across the state, while having humane immigration policies that keep families together. Immigration enforcement falls under federal jurisdiction, and as AG I’ll hold the federal government accountable to do their job in ensuring a clear and orderly immigration process so Texans can focus on reducing crime and improving our economy.
Do you support changes to Texas gun laws? If so, what changes? Would you support raising the age to buy AK-style rifles from 18 to 21?
Texans have a strong relationship with guns, and like many Texans, I have a deep respect for the Second Amendment. In fact, I grew up hunting with my dad and learned how to use guns properly at an early age. However, we must strike a balance between that right and protecting the safety of our communities. As AG, I would do everything in my power to protect our community and our children. I would advocate for common sense gun laws such as mandatoring universal background checks, strengthening safe storage laws and closing gun show loopholes. I would also advocate for raising the age to purchase AK-style rifles to 21 years old, to ensure we are protecting our community.
As attorney general, how would you address abortion access in Texas?
Paxton has used the power of the AG’s office to force his own ideology on Texans – at the expense of women’s lives and the health of our families. Instead of working to expand access to quality prenatal and postnatal health care, Paxton is actively harming Texans by fighting to enforce abortion bans. He is actively suing to prevent doctors from providing life-saving abortion care in emergency situations, and people will die as result.As Texas Attorney General, my priority will be protecting Texans. I will fight to restore reproductive rights in our state.
What steps would you take to promote transparency in the Texas attorney general’s office?
Transparency is key to accountability, and both are critical to a functioning democracy. As Attorney General, I’ll ensure that Texans have access to public information in compliance with the law. I believe in government transparency, unlike Paxton, who has failed to disclose records related to his actions during the Jan. 6 insurrection. When elected, I will release the records Paxton has been withholding about himself in violation of Texas law, and address the backlog of public information requests.
What should the attorney general’s role be in the handling of cases related to elections?
Voting rights and free and fair elections are the bedrock of our democracy. As attorney general, I will protect this sacred right through a voting rights unit that will focus on voter access and end suppression tactics. I would also ensure that Texans continue to follow state and federal law when it comes to ballot security, which means keeping ballots secure and preserved for 22 months to allow for recounts and challenges. This is in direct opposition to Paxton, who in August issued an opinion that allows the public access to inspect ballots within a day of being cast. Election officials say this would jeopardize the material safety of these ballots while also forcing them to break the law.
As attorney general, how would you work to ensure people’s civil rights are protected? Please give examples of how you plan to achieve this.
I understand that a threat to civil rights anywhere is a threat to civil rights everywhere, and I’ve been fighting to defend and protect our civil rights all of my career. As AG, I would create a fully funded Civil Rights Division to protect the safety, privacy, and dignity of every Texan. The division would include a voting rights unit to protect access to the ballot box, an LGBTQ+ rights unit to address legal challenges faced by members of the LGBTQ+ community, and a disabilities rights unit to ensure the rights of Texans with disabilities are protected.
How would you work with/against the Biden administration as attorney general?
As Attorney General, my priority would always be to protect and defend the rights of all Texans. Right now, Texas has a contentious relationship with the federal government, especially the Biden Administration, and I believe it’s important to have an attorney general that can have a working relationship with our federal administration and serve as a check and balance to our state leadership. I will also hold the federal government accountable where there are acts or inactions that harm Texans. As AG, I will put the well-being of Texans at the center of everything I do.
Should Texas loosen its marijuana laws? Would you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational and/or medical use? How should the state and local governments handle marijuana cases?
As Attorney General, I will support legalizing the sale and use of recreational cannabis while also ending the prejudicial prosecution of Black and brown Texans on non-violent possession of marijuana charges. Through legalization, we can keep Texans out of jail, create over 40,000 jobs across the state, and add a revenue stream of almost $1 billion dollars that can be used to improve infrastructure and public schools across the state.
How would you manage the oversight of child support payments as attorney general?
Child support is fundamental to ensuring Texas children have food on the table and a roof over their head, and Ken Paxton has ignored the basic responsibilities of the office. It is the biggest division of the AG’s office and needs robust support. We can improve child support collections by ensuring the staff members under that division have the resources they need, and by ensuring that the information and communications coming out of that office are shared with families in a manner and language that is best for them.
What steps would you take to protect consumers as attorney general?
The job of the attorney general is to be the people’s lawyer, and ensure that the rights of every Texan are protected and respected. I would make consumer protection a top priority and fight to hold accountable any corporation that aims to cheat Texas families out of their hard-earned dollars. I will take on bad actors for price-gouging and hold health insurance companies accountable for delivering what they promise, and I will also stand up for rural Texans to make sure they have the infrastructure needed to build healthy communities.
