在一场影响波及全国法律版图的惊人冷门中，民主党人内森·约翰逊在德克萨斯州下一任首席法律官的竞选中宣称胜利。
In a stunning upset with repercussions across the national legal landscape, Democrat Nathan Johnson claimed victory in the race to be Texas’ next top lawyer.
约翰逊是达拉斯州参议员兼企业诉讼律师，是自1994年以来首位当选德州检察长的民主党人。他击败了梅耶斯·米德尔顿，后者是一位石油和天然气继承人，曾紧密绑定总统。据约翰逊竞选团队发言人透露，米德尔顿致电约翰逊认输。
Johnson, a Dallas state senator and corporate litigator, is the first Democrat elected attorney general since 1994. He defeated Mayes Middleton, an oil and gas heir who tethered himself closely to the president. Middleton called Johnson to concede, according to a spokesperson for Johnson’s campaign.
约翰逊誓言将专注于州最大律师事务所的职责，如消费者保护、反腐败和抚养费执行。他表示，当他认为联邦政府在德州越权时，其办公室将起诉特朗普政府。
Johnson has vowed to focus on the obligations of the state’s largest law firm, like consumer protection, anti-corruption and child support enforcement. He said his office will sue the Trump administration when he believes the federal government is overstepping in Texas.
领导层的更替标志着该机构发生了一次地震式的转变，该机构日益专注于代表共和党政府、其他州以及私人右翼诉讼当事人，通过法院推动保守派事业。
The change in leadership represents a seismic shift for an agency that has become increasingly focused on pushing conservative causes through the courts on behalf of Republican administrations, other states and private, right-wing litigants.
作为全国最大的红州检察长办公室，德州在塑造保守派法理学方面发挥了超常规的作用，正如加利福尼亚州和纽约州在左翼所做的那样。
As the largest red state attorney general’s office in the country, Texas has played an outsized role in shaping conservative jurisprudence, much as California and New York have done on the left.
米德尔顿曾誓言延续这一努力，承诺延续其前任肯·帕克森的所有党派性，却没有那些道德和法律丑闻。米德尔顿以其与唐纳德·特朗普总统的密切关系为竞选卖点，承诺“利用一切资源和工具支持总统，支持他保卫边境、驱逐非法移民的斗争，清单还在继续。”米德尔顿花费近2000万美元自有资金，在一场激烈的初选和决选中击败了联邦众议员奇普·罗伊。但在大选阶段，他收敛了声势，因为选票顶端的竞选吸引了更多关注和资金。
Middleton had vowed to continue that effort, promising all the partisanship of his predecessor, Ken Paxton, with none of the ethical and legal scandals. Middleton ran on his close relationship with President Donald Trump, promising to “use every resource and tool to back up the president, back up his fight to secure our border, to deport illegal immigrants, the list goes on.”Middleton spent close to $20 million of his own money to defeat U.S. Rep. Chip Roy in a contentious primary and runoff. But he pulled back during the general election, as races at the top of the ticket drew more attention and funding.
与此同时，约翰逊投放广告提醒选民注意该机构除抢眼政治工作之外的职责——以及为何他是恢复这些职能的合适人选。
Johnson, meanwhile, ran ads reminding voters about the agency’s responsibilities beyond headline-grabbing political work — and why he was the person to restore those functions.
“我的策略是让他们发疯、毫无建树，而我则以严肃认真的形象出现，”他在大选前告诉《德克萨斯论坛报》。“我认为人们厌倦了被当成傻瓜对待。”这并非约翰逊首次力挽狂澜。2018年，他击败了一位资金雄厚的保守派州参议员，夺回了一个由共和党控制了数十年的席位。在随后的八年里，约翰逊建立起了两党交易达成者的声誉，在共和党主导的议院中设法取得了实质性胜利。他表示，将把这种愿意与任何人合作的态度带到总检察长办公室。
“My strategy is to let them be crazy and unproductive, and run from my side as the serious guy,” he told The Texas Tribune before the election. “I think people are tired of being treated like they’re stupid.”This is not Johnson’s first time defying the odds. In 2018, he unseated a well-funded, conservative state senator and flipped a seat that had been under Republican control for decades. Over the subsequent eight years, Johnson built a reputation as a bipartisan dealmaker who managed to eke out substantive wins in a GOP-dominated chamber.
然而，约翰逊任内最大的成就之一已成过去。保罗·诺莱特表示，通过从共和党手中夺回该机构的控制权，他至少暂时遏制了保守派法律运动。诺莱特是马凯特大学研究总检察长的政治学家。
He has said he will bring the same willingness to work with anyone to the attorney general’s office. One of the biggest accomplishments of Johnson’s tenure, however, is already behind him. In reclaiming this agency from Republican control, he has kneecapped the conservative legal movement, at least temporarily, said Paul Nolette, a political scientist who studies attorneys general at Marquette University.
“这将是一场巨变，”诺莱特说。“最大的影响甚至不在于该职位由民主党人担任，而在于不再由共和党担任。谁将成为共和党阵营的新领袖？这是一个悬而未决的问题。”在另一边，加利福尼亚州和纽约州已主导这一领域，因此诺莱特预计德克萨斯州在全国性诉讼中将扮演较小的角色。
“It would be a sea change,” Nolette said. “The biggest effect would not even be that there is a Democrat in the office, but that it’s not a Republican. Who becomes the new leader of the Republican pack? That’s an open question.”On the other side of the aisle, California and New York already dominate the space, so Nolette said he anticipates Texas being a smaller player in national litigation.
约翰逊表示这正合他意，因为他希望避开政治纷争，专注于州级事务。
That suits Johnson fine, he said, as he hopes to stay out of the political fray and focus on state-level issues.
“我认为人们渴望从民选官员那里看到非常严肃、非常实质性的工作，”他说。
“I think people are hungry for very serious, very substantive work from their elected officials,” he said.