Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt has officially announced his run as Democrat for Texas attorney general.
Merritt will be working hard to unseat Republican incumbent Ken Paxton.
“I’ve spent my legal career helping families who are unjustly affected by this broken system,” he wrote. “Now I’m running for Texas Attorney General to make some real changes.”
Democrat Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski is also campaigning for the spot. Republicans in the run are Land Commissioner George P. Bush and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman.
“Texas Republicans have launched an all-out assault on voter rights and civil liberties,” Merritt said in a statement. He also called out General Ken Paxton and other GOP leaders, accusing them of “blatantly attempting to turn back progress in the Lone Star State using the familiar tactics of voter suppression, divisive rhetoric and corporate money.”
Texas Democrats in the state House left Texas and headed to Washington, D.C., on Monday to prevent the GOP from passing restrictive voting legislation.
House Dems say they will remain in Washington until the special legislative session ends Aug. 6 to block the lower chamber from having enough members to pass bills.
Merritt is one of the most notable Black civil rights attorneys in the country. He has been the face of several high-profile cases, including Botham Jean, Atatiana Jefferson, Ahmaud Arbery, Marvin Scott III, Ronald Greene and Jonathan Price.
“I continue to advocate for those families but more importantly they are given an avenue — this campaign is as much about them as it is the other citizens of Texas because those families have been confronted with roadblocks,” Merritt told CNN.
