德克萨斯州民主党总检察长候选人周一启动七位数电视广告投放，此举正值该党在红色孤星州显现势头之际。民主党籍州参议员内森·约翰逊在广告中主张，“德州需要一位好律师”来取代现任总检察长肯·帕克斯顿（共和党），这位深陷丑闻的检察官正竞逐该州备受瞩目的联邦参议员席位。
The Democratic candidate for Texas Attorney General launched a seven-figure television ad buy on Monday amid signs of the party’s momentum in the red Lone Star State. Nathan Johnson, a Democratic state senator, argues in the ad that “Texas could use a good lawyer” to replace current Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), the scandal-clad prosecutor who’s running in the state’s high-profile Senate race.
这则30秒广告聚焦于5月接受KHOU电视台采访的一幕，当时共和党籍州参议员、石油天然气高管梅耶斯·米德尔顿表示，不认为总检察长办公室过度政治化。“帕克斯顿执政12年后，我们需要一位将法治置于政治之上、将公共利益置于个人议程之上的总检察长，”约翰逊在广告中表示。据该民主党竞选团队发布的声明，该广告将全州范围播放至选举日。
The 30-second spot focuses on a May interview with KHOU in which candidate Mayes Middleton, a Republican state senator and oil and gas executive, said he did not think the office had become too political. “After 12 years of Ken Paxton in office, we need an Attorney General who will put the rule of law over politics and the public good over a personal agenda,” Johnson says in the ad, which is running statewide through Election Day, according to a release from the Democrat's campaign.
民调虽稀少，但最新数据显示，这场通常稳操胜券的红州竞选可能比预期更胶着。德克萨斯大学/德州政治项目8月民调显示，米德尔顿以40%对35%领先5个百分点，21%选民未定。德州南方大学9月民调则显示，米德尔顿以47%对42%领先5个百分点，另有9%选民未定。
Polling has been sparse in the race, but the latest numbers indicate the race for the typically red seat could be closer than expected. An August poll from the University of Texas/Texas Politics Project found Middleton up by 5 percentage points, with 40 percent, to Johnson’s 35 percent and 21 percent undecided. A September Texas Southern University poll found Middleton ahead by 5 percentage points, with 47 percent to Johnson’s 42 percent and another 9 percent undecided.
米德尔顿在激烈的决选中击败联邦众议员奇普·罗伊（共和党），强调其与特朗普总统立场一致。约翰逊同样赢得决选，承诺改革该办公室。两人角逐接替帕克斯顿，后者长期被民主党指责将办公室政治化，因激进挑战拜登政府并支持特朗普连任。帕克斯顿担任州最高执法官期间争议不断，包括2023年因腐败指控遭弹劾但未获通过。
Middleton defeated Rep. Chip Roy (R) in a contentious runoff as he touted his alignment with President Trump. Johnson also won a runoff as he promised to reform the office. They’re jostling to replace Paxton, whom Democrats have long accused of politicizing the office as he moved aggressively to challenge the Biden administration and support Trump into his second term. Paxton's tenure as the state’s top law enforcement official has also been plagued by controversy, including an unsuccessful 2023 impeachment on corruption charges.
约翰逊在其竞选团队发布的一份声明中辩称，帕克斯顿将该办公室变成了“极右翼的私人律师事务所。”然而，米德尔顿此前曾表示，“检察长职位最重要的任务是击败左派。”德州检察长办公室在塑造保守派政治方面发挥了关键作用——它也成为了通往更高职位的政治跳板，其“校友”名单包括联邦参议员约翰·科宁（德州共和党人）和州长格雷格·阿博特（共和党人）。
Johnson contended in a release from his campaign that Paxton turned the office into “a private law firm for the far right.”Middleton, however, has previously said that “the most important thing in the attorney general’s role is defeating the left.”The Texas AG office has played a key role in shaping conservative politics — and it’s also served as a political springboard for higher office, with an alumni list that includes Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
尽管米德尔顿在民调中保持领先，但这场竞选发生在对德州民主党人有利的政治环境背景下，后者已挣扎数十年未能赢得全州范围的选举胜利。据 Decision Desk HQ 称，德州参议院竞选目前势均力敌，帕克斯顿在最新的民调平均值中落后于塔拉里科。
Though Middleton maintains the polling lead, the race comes against the backdrop of a promising political environment for Texas Democrats, who have struggled for decades to pull off a statewide win. The Texas Senate race is now a toss-up, according to Decision Desk HQ, with Paxton trailing Talarico in the latest polling averages.