Democratic Attorney General Wins in Five States Could Reshape Lawsuits on Abortion, Immigration and More

Democrats won attorney general races in five states in the November 3 midterm elections, and the new officeholders will soon decide the fate of dozens of lawsuits that Republican attorneys general filed on abortion, immigration, the environment and voting rights.

Democrats flipped the offices in Texas, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas and Ohio, according to Reuters. The party won 20 of the 31 attorney general races on the ballot and will hold 29 of the 51 offices nationwide, with 13 new attorneys general taking office, according to an analysis by the law firm Troutman Pepper Locke.

State attorneys general can sue federal agencies, defend state laws in court and join multistate cases, so a change in one office can alter cases that reach far beyond that state. Texas in particular has served as a hub for Republican-led litigation in recent years.

In Texas, Democratic state Senator Nathan Johnson won the race to succeed outgoing Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican. Johnson told Reuters he will review the lawsuits Paxton filed and decide which ones to keep. “Everything will be examined,” he said.

Abortion cases face review in Texas and Kansas

Texas is among the states suing the Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. The states argue the agency did not fully evaluate the drug’s safety and effectiveness. If Texas drops out, Florida would be the remaining plaintiff. Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier won a new term in Florida on Tuesday.

In Kansas, Attorney General-elect Chris Mann could pull the state out of a separate challenge to rules that expanded access to mifepristone, which would leave Missouri and Idaho as plaintiffs. Mann narrowly defeated Republican incumbent Kris Kobach.

Johnson could also drop Texas lawsuits against out-of-state providers that prescribe mifepristone by telemedicine to Texas residents. He could decline to defend the state’s near-total abortion ban in a lawsuit filed by the family of Tierra Walker, a Texas woman who died from a pregnancy-related condition after doctors refused to perform an abortion, according to Reuters.

The state could also step back from at least three cases seeking to enforce a 2023 Texas law that bars gender-affirming treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors.

In Georgia, Democrat Tanya Miller became the first woman elected attorney general in the state’s history. Her election could affect the state’s defense of HB 481, a 2019 law that bans abortion after six weeks. The Georgia Supreme Court revived the law in 2024, and litigation over the ban is still going on.

Drug, environment and immigration suits also in play

Another case Johnson could review is Texas’s suit against Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol. The state alleges the company hid purported links between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Kenvue has denied any wrongdoing. Doctors and medical groups regard acetaminophen as the preferred treatment for pain and fever during pregnancy, and there is no firm scientific evidence of a link between its use and autism or ADHD, according to Reuters.

Paxton sued drugmaker Pfizer in 2023, accusing the company of misrepresenting the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer has said its statements about the vaccine were “accurate and science-based” and that the suit had no merit. Kobach also sued Pfizer over similar claims.

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

On immigration, the new Texas attorney general could drop the state’s defense of SB4, a law that lets state authorities arrest and prosecute people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the law to take effect in April while a challenge moves forward.

In Iowa, the Supreme Court is weighing whether to take up the state’s appeal of a ruling that blocked a law letting state officials arrest and prosecute people in the country illegally. Attorney General-elect Nate Willems could decline to defend the law if the court takes the case.

Other cases could change hands as well. Paxton’s office is appealing a Boston federal judge’s order that stopped the state from pursuing a lawsuit against ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. In June, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns granted ActBlue a preliminary injunction after the platform argued the suit violated its free speech rights.

In Georgia, a federal judge is weighing a fight over the state’s congressional maps, which challengers say harmed Black voters. A federal appeals court in August vacated a 2023 ruling that said the Republican-backed plan illegally diluted Black votes in violation of the Voting Rights Act. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Steven Jones in Atlanta paused further action in the case, citing “impending changes” in the leadership of the state attorney general’s office.

At the U.S. Supreme Court, the new Texas attorney general could revisit the state’s defense of a 2025 law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Several Texas families, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, have asked the justices to strike down the law. A divided appeals court ruled in April that Texas can require the displays, and the Supreme Court has not decided whether to take up the case.

Johnson told Reuters the Texas attorney general’s office “has been operating as the private law firm of the MAGA movement,” and said he is prepared to join multistate lawsuits against what he called federal abuse of power, including possible fights with the Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In Iowa, Willems has pledged to prosecute corporate polluters and revive the office’s consumer protection division. Outgoing Republican Brenna Bird drew attention for halting state reimbursements for abortions for rape victims. In Ohio, Attorney General-elect John Kulewicz campaigned on curbing corporate price gouging. In Kansas, Mann said he wants to run a nonpartisan office.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters and Troutman Pepper Locke.