Texas Attorney General

head of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(Redirected from Attorney General of Texas)

The Attorney General of Texas is the state attorney general of the state government of the U.S. state of Texas. The attorney general is also the chief legal officer and the head of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He/she carries out official duties and responsibilities of the office through the Office of the Attorney General.

Attorney General of Texas
Incumbent
Ken Paxton

since January 5, 2015
Office of the Attorney General
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Executive Branch
Texas Cabinet
Style
  • Attorney General
  • The Honorable
SeatAustin, Texas
Term lengthFour years, no term limit
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Texas
Inaugural holderVolney E. Howard
Formation1846
Websiteoag.state.tx.us

The state attorney general is elected to a four-year term. This does not have term limits. The election is held at the same statewide election as the governor, lieutenant governor, etc.

Ken Paxton is the current Attorney General of Texas, in office since January 2015 under Governor Greg Abbott.

Officeholders

change
Attorneys general by party affiliation
Party Attorneys general
Democratic 44
Republican 4
Unionist 2
Attorneys general in chronological order, showing party affiliation
No. Image Name Term of service Political party
1   Volney Howard 1846 Democratic
2 John W. Harris 1846–1849 Democratic
3 Henry Percy Brewster 1849–1850 Democratic
4   Andrew Jackson Hamilton 1850 Democratic
5 Ebenezer Allen1 1850–1852 Democratic
6 Thomas J. Jennings 1852–1856 Democratic
7   James Willie 1856–1858 Democratic
8 Malcolm D. Graham 1858–1860 Democratic
9 George M. Flournoy 1860–1862 Democratic
10 Nathan G. Shelley 1862–1864 Democratic
11 Benjamin E. Tarver 1864–1865 Democratic
12 William Alexander 1865–1866 Unionist
13 File:William M Walton.jpg William M. Walton 1866–1867 Democratic
14 Ezekiel B. Turner 1867–1870 Unionist
15 William Alexander 1870–1874 Republican
16 George W. Clark 1874–1876 Democratic
17 Hannibal Boone 1876–1878 Democratic
18 George McCormick 1878–1880 Democratic
19 James H. McLeary 1880–1882 Democratic
20 John D. Templeton 1882–1886 Democratic
21   Jim Hogg 1886–1890 Democratic
22   Charles Allen Culberson 1890–1894 Democratic
23   Martin McNulty Crane 1894–1898 Democratic
24 Thomas Slater Smith 1898–1901 Democratic
25   Charles K. Bell 1901–1904 Democratic
26   Robert V. Davidson 1904–1910 Democratic
27 Jewel P. Lightfoot 1910–1912 Democratic
28 James D. Walthall 1912–1913 Democratic
29   B. F. Looney 1913–1919 Democratic
30 Calvin Maples Cureton 1919–1921 Democratic
31 Walter Angus Keeling 1921–1925 Democratic
32   Dan Moody 1925–1927 Democratic
33 Claude Pollard2 1927–1929 Democratic
34 Robert L. Bobbitt3 1929–1931 Democratic
35   James V. Allred 1931–1935 Democratic
36 William McCraw 1935–1939 Democratic
37   Gerald Mann 1939–1943 Democratic
38 Grover Sellers 1943–1947 Democratic
39   Price Daniel 1947–1953 Democratic
40 John Ben Shepperd 1953–1957 Democratic
41   Will Wilson 1957–1963 Democratic
42   Waggoner Carr 1963–1967 Democratic
43 Crawford Martin 1967–1972 Democratic
44 John Hill 1973–1979 Democratic
45   Mark White 1979–1983 Democratic
46   Jim Mattox 1983–1991 Democratic
47 Dan Morales 1991–1999 Democratic
48   John Cornyn 1999–2002 Republican
49   Greg Abbott 2002–2015 Republican
50   Ken Paxton 2015–present
Suspended May 27, 2023 – September 16, 2023
Republican