AUSTIN (KXAN) — The candidate who tried to remove the Texas Attorney General is set to take on a new job that could pit the two against each other in future legal battles.
Last year’s Democratic nominee for Attorney General, Rochelle Garza, announced she would be president. Texas Civil Rights Project, state legal advocacy groups. The group shared the hiring news in a news release on Thursday, noting that Garza will begin his new post on February 1.
In a statement Thursday, Garza said, “Citizenship and fundamental freedoms in Texas are under attack and those in power must be held to account. This fight is not new to the TCRP. I am the next president.” I am honored and humbled to be with a team dedicated to empowering the people of Texas through community advocacy and direct organizing with affected communities. We look forward to working together. Together, we will build a Texas big enough for all of us.”
She lost to Republican incumbent Ken Paxton in last November’s general election to win a third term as the state’s top attorney by about 10 percentage points. Prior to running for her public office, Garza worked as a civil rights attorney. During her campaign, she often highlighted her successful case in the U.S. Supreme Court as evidence of her potential success in major legal battles. In the Azar v. Garza case, she represented her teenage illegal immigrant detained in the United States who was denied access to an abortion.
The Texas Civil Rights Project noted its legal work in Thursday’s announcement on Garza’s hiring.
“More than ever, we believe TCRP has a bright future,” said Raven Hollins, interim chairman of the organization who will soon serve as Garza’s chief of staff, in a statement. “We have a long track record of success at both the state and national levels under our innovative community attorney model. With talent, we will continue to build on this foundation.”
One of Paxton’s other challengers, former Texas land commissioner George P. Bush, said he plans to work for a Wisconsin-based law firm. but ultimately lost his bid to become the Republican nominee.
