Johnson criticizes Paxton's handling of DREAM Act, calls redistricting ‘un-American'
Johnson, D-Dallas, who announced his candidacy for attorney general, called Paxton's decision not to defend the Texas DREAM Act 'an outright act of collusion' and 'a subversion of democracy.'
'Ken Paxton went in there, colluded with the federal government, Donald Trump, obviously, to get rid of a program that was signed by a Republican governor and passed by a Republican legislature 24 years ago,' Johnson said.
The DREAM Act allows certain undocumented immigrants who have lived in Texas for at least three years and graduated from a Texas high school to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. A federal judge struck down the program in January after the attorney general's office declined to defend it in court.
In a statement after the decision, the Office of Attorney General sent a news release crediting Paxton for striking down the law. In the release, Paxton said the law 'unconstitutionally and unlawfully gave benefits to illegal aliens that were not available to American citizens.'
'Ending this discriminatory and un-American provision is a major victory for Texas,' Paxton added in the release.
Johnson argued the program benefits Texas economically and has been consistently supported by Republican-controlled legislatures.
'These are kids who've been here mostly their whole lives. They've gotten good grades, they qualified to go into college. They want to become educated participants in our society, and we've paid to educate them already,' he said.
The Democratic candidate criticized Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to call the current special session, particularly the inclusion of redistricting on the agenda.
'What's completely, completely illegitimate is this redistricting garbage. I find that offensive. I find it un-American, anti-democratic,' Johnson said. 'It's really just a way for them to insulate themselves from the wrath of the voters for having done a bad job.'
Johnson acknowledged the challenges facing Democrats in statewide races but pointed to his 2018 Senate victory as evidence that change remains possible.
'When I ran to be a state senator in 2018 no one had won that no Democrat had won that seat in over 30 years, and people thought it was absolutely nuts to try. Well, we won it by eight points,' he said.
The senator outlined his priorities for the attorney general's office, emphasizing traditional functions over high-profile litigation.
'I would be tackling things that people should be counting whether the Attorney General should be doing,' Johnson said, citing child support collection, protecting consumers from scams and market abuse and addressing political corruption.
Johnson was the sole dissenting vote on a property tax relief measure for residents 65 and older, calling it a redistribution of wealth from working families to retirees.
'You're literally redistributing money. You're taking money from low income, working families struggling to pay their rent, and giving it, in many cases, two thirds of the cases, to retirees who have expensive homes,' he said.
The Democratic primary for attorney general will be held March 3, 2026. Johnson will face former Galveston mayor Joe Jaworski, who announced his candidacy earlier this month. Whoever wins the primary will face an uphill battle in the general election against one of three Republicans seeking the nomination: Sens. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, and Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, as well as former Department of Justice attorney Aaron Reitz.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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