Republicans lost state attorney general races to Democrats in five states in the November 3 midterm elections, with consequences for pending lawsuits over abortion, transgender rights, immigration, the environment and more.
Democrats will take over the attorney general offices in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Kansas and Texas. In Texas, the incoming attorney general, Nathan Johnson, told Reuters he will assess the pending lawsuits brought by outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton to determine whether he will support them. "Everything will be examined," Johnson said.
"The Texas AG's office has been operating as the private law firm of the MAGA movement," Johnson said in an interview. "No more." He said he plans a review of Paxton's initiatives, including legal actions targeting out-of-state abortion providers, claims linking over-the-counter medications to autism and lawsuits challenging vaccine efficacy. He is also critical of the office's partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and plans to review whether it should continue.
On abortion, Texas is among the states suing the Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, arguing the agency failed to thoroughly evaluate the drug's safety and effectiveness. If Texas withdraws, Florida, where Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier won a new term on Tuesday, would be the remaining plaintiff. In Kansas, Attorney General-elect Chris Mann could withdraw the state from a separate challenge to regulations that expanded access to mifepristone, which would leave Missouri and Idaho as plaintiffs.
Johnson could also decline to defend Texas's near-total abortion ban in a lawsuit by the family of Tierra Walker, a Texas woman who died from a pregnancy-related condition after doctors refused to perform an abortion. The state could also back away from at least three pending cases seeking to enforce a 2023 law banning gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors. In Georgia, Democrat Tanya Miller's election could affect the state's defense of HB 481, the 2019 law banning abortion after six weeks, with litigation ongoing after the Georgia Supreme Court revived the law in 2024.
On pharmaceuticals, another lawsuit that could draw scrutiny from Johnson is Texas's case against Kenvue, which alleges the Tylenol maker concealed purported links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Kenvue has denied any wrongdoing, and doctors and medical groups consider acetaminophen the preferred treatment for pain and fever during pregnancy, with no firm scientific evidence of a link to autism or ADHD. Paxton in 2023 also accused drugmaker Pfizer of misrepresenting the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine; Pfizer said its representations were "accurate and science-based" and that the lawsuit had no merit. Republican Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who narrowly lost a reelection bid to Mann, also sued Pfizer over similar claims.
On the environment, Texas and 12 other Republican-led states are suing top asset managers including BlackRock, accusing them of violating antitrust law through climate activism that reduced coal production and boosted energy prices. Kansas is among the plaintiffs. BlackRock has denied any wrongdoing, and Vanguard settled claims against it in the lawsuit for $29.5 million in February.
On immigration, the new attorney general in Texas could drop the state's defense of SB4, a Republican-backed Texas law that allows state authorities to arrest and prosecute people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in April allowed the law to take effect as a challenge proceeds. In Iowa, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up the state's appeal of a ruling blocking a law that would allow state officials to arrest and prosecute people who are in the U.S. illegally; Attorney General-elect Nate Willems could decline to defend the law if the court takes the case. Willems has pledged to prosecute corporate polluters and revive the office's consumer protection division.
On voting rights, Paxton's office is appealing a Boston federal judge's order that stopped the Republican attorney general from continuing a lawsuit against Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue over its donation practices; U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns granted ActBlue's request for a preliminary injunction in June. In Georgia, a federal judge is weighing a fight over the state's congressional maps, and U.S. District Judge Steven Jones in Atlanta paused further action in the litigation on Thursday, citing "impending changes" in the leadership of the state attorney general's office. On religious liberties, the new Texas attorney general could revisit the state's defense of a Texas law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools; the Supreme Court has not decided whether to take up the case.
In Ohio, Attorney General-elect John Kulewicz campaigned on curbing corporate price gouging, and in Kansas, Mann said he wants to make the office nonpartisan. Johnson said he is prepared to join multistate lawsuits against what he called federal abuse of power, pointing to potential regulatory battles with the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
