Democratic Attorney General Wins Could Reshape U.S. Lawsuits on Abortion, Immigration and More

Democrats flipped attorney general offices in five Republican-leaning states in the November 3 midterm elections, a shift that could reshape pending lawsuits on abortion, immigration and the environment — and give Democrats a new legal front against the Trump administration.

Democrats will take over the offices in Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Kansas, Reuters reported. The wins could disrupt the conservative legal strategy built on Republican attorneys general. Democrats also won control of the House and the Senate in the same elections, along with Gina Hinojosa’s victory in the Texas governor’s race.

Nowhere is the change likely to be felt more sharply than in Texas, where Democrat Nathan Johnson defeated outgoing Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. Under Paxton, the Texas office served as a command centre for conservative legal challenges, suing Democratic administrations and defending Republican-backed laws. Johnson told Reuters he will assess the pending lawsuits Paxton’s office brought to determine whether or not he will support them. “Everything will be examined,” he said. In a separate interview, he described the office as having operated as “the private law firm of the MAGA movement” and said he was prepared to join multistate lawsuits against what he called federal abuse of power.

Abortion and transgender rights

Texas is among the states suing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, arguing that the agency failed to thoroughly evaluate the drug’s safety and effectiveness. If Johnson withdraws Texas from the case, 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, who narrowly defeated Republican Kris Kobach, could withdraw the state from a separate challenge to regulations that expanded access to mifepristone, leaving Missouri and Idaho as plaintiffs.

Texas has also sued out-of-state providers for remotely prescribing mifepristone to Texans. Johnson could also decline to defend the state’s near-total abortion ban in a suit by the family of Tierra Walker, a Texas woman who died from a pregnancy-related condition after doctors refused an abortion. It could also abandon at least three cases enforcing a 2023 law banning gender-affirming care for minors.

In Georgia, Democrat Tanya Miller’s election could affect the state’s defence of HB 481, the 2019 law banning abortion after six weeks. Litigation continues after the Georgia Supreme Court revived the law in 2024.

Pharmaceuticals, the environment and immigration

Johnson could also review Texas’s case against Kenvue, which alleges the Tylenol maker concealed purported links between acetaminophen use in pregnancy and autism and ADHD in children. Kenvue has denied any wrongdoing. Medical groups say there is no firm scientific evidence of such a link. Paxton also sued Pfizer in 2023 over its COVID-19 vaccine; Pfizer has said its representations were “accurate and science-based”.

Texas and 12 other Republican-led states are also suing asset managers including BlackRock, accusing them of antitrust violations through climate activism that cut coal production and raised energy prices. BlackRock has denied any wrongdoing, and Vanguard Group settled claims against it in February for $29.5 million.

Johnson could also drop the defence of SB4, the Texas law letting state authorities arrest and prosecute people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed it to take effect in April as a challenge proceeds. In Iowa, Attorney General-elect Nate Willems could decline to defend a similar state immigration-arrest law if the Supreme Court takes the case. Willems has pledged to prosecute corporate polluters and revive the office’s consumer protection division, a break from outgoing Republican Brenna Bird.

Voting rights and religious liberty

Paxton is appealing a Boston judge’s order halting his lawsuit against Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue over its donation practices. A judge blocked the suit in June on free-speech grounds.

In Georgia, a federal judge is weighing a fight over the state’s congressional maps, which challengers said harmed Black voters. A federal judge paused the case on Thursday, citing “impending changes” in the attorney general’s office. At the U.S. Supreme Court, the new Texas attorney general could revisit the state’s defence of a law mandating the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. An appeals court ruled in April that Texas can require the displays; the Supreme Court has not decided whether to take the case.

In Ohio, Attorney General-elect John Kulewicz campaigned on curbing corporate price gouging, while Mann said he wants a nonpartisan office and plans to review his predecessor’s lawsuits. Together, the five give Democrats a legal bloc that, a second Reuters report noted, could challenge the Trump administration’s environmental and gun policies and halt cooperation with federal immigration operations.