WACO, Texas — The race for Texas Attorney General is shaping up to be one of the midterm's closest statewide contests.
For weeks now, Democratic challenger Rochelle Garza has been hitting the campaign trail trying to raise her name recognition and convince Texans she’s the woman for the job.
“I want to come into this office to do the job, take care of what we need to take care of for everyday Texans,” Garza told 25 News this week.
Originally from Brownsville, Garza is a one-time ACLU lawyer who's married and has a young child.
Polls this cycle show her only a few points behind embattled incumbent Ken Paxton, who is facing a slew of controversies including a felony indictment for securities violations.
“It starts at the top. Ken Paxton is much more concerned with staying out of prison than serving the interest of Texans. That’s why you see consumer protection not being a priority. That’s why you see the child support division just waning,” Garza said.
On Wednesday, new fundraising numbers showed Garza pulled in more than $1.5 million from July through September.
She plans an aggressive ad and media play during the final month of the campaign, and Paxton released some new billboard ads himself slamming Garza on immigration.
Garza says she’s hearing most from potential voters on the state’s heartbeat abortion bill.
“Let me be very clear about where we are right now. There are no exceptions for rape or incest when it comes to someone who needs access to an abortion,” said Garza
When pressed on the border, she admits the feds need to do more and says she’d hold them accountable.
She says the current AG actually isn’t strong enough when it comes to targeting drug and human traffickers. Paxton's office did role out a recent effort aimed at opioid addiction.
25 News reached out repeatedly to the attorney general's office and campaign during the past few weeks to do an interview, but so far there's been no response.
