Lee Merritt
Democratic Candidate for Attorney General
Merritt/Photo by Campaign
Question: What is your age?
Answer: 38
Q: What is your educational background? Please list any degrees or certificates earned and any institutions attended.
A: I graduated cum laude from Morehouse College and received my J.D. degree from Temple University’s James Beasley School of Law.
Q: What is your occupation?
A: Federal constitutional attorney
Q: If you are a business owner, please list the business or businesses that you own. (If this question is not applicable, please note that below.)
A: Merritt Law Firm LLC
Q: Please list any civic boards or commissions (non-profit, government, union, political, etc.) on which you have served as a board member or equivalent.
A: NA
Q: Have you previously held or do you currently hold any elected office? If so, what office(s)?
A: No
Q: If your campaign has any online campaign resources where voters can learn more about you, such as social media accounts or a website, please list them below.
A: Twitter: @MerrittForTexas
Instagram: @leemerrittesq
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MerrittforTexas
Website: www.leemerritt4texas.com
Q: Why did you decide to run for this office in 2022?
A: I am seeking the office of Attorney General in order to return the office to the people of Texas. In my career as a constitutional attorney, I have helped families connect with AG offices across the country and have worked with talented attorneys to help bring accountability, healing and justice. I believe I am the right candidate to make the Attorney General’s office the people’s firm because I have spent my legal career fighting for average citizens in the courtroom and running one of the leading constitutional firms in the country.
My work as a constitutional attorney has resulted in greater name recognition and visibility which is a component of any successful campaign. This is shown through the initial 10,000 people who donated to my campaign when I announced I was running this past summer and the early progressive support I have received from Cory Booker, Keith Ellison, Real Justice PAC, and the Texas Organizing Project. I believe that my successes in upholding constitutional rights in the courtroom, firsthand experiences with the forms of injustice I am fighting, and passion make me the right man for this job.
Q: If elected, what will be your top three priorities in office?
A: My priority is to protect voter rights and fight to ensure all Texans can participate in the political process. Republicans have disenfranchised 4 million new Texans through gerrymandering, and the AG continues to intimidate Black and Brown voters through politically motivated prosecutions.
My next priority is to protect public education: republican efforts to defund public education must be opposed by the people’s lawyer. I will support local control for decisions concerning public safety and health in reliance with science and medical professionals, support access to educational resources that school boards choose, and challenge where there is interference on the state level on constitutional grounds. As a former teacher, I will always be on the side of educators and local control concerning issues impacting the classroom.
An additional priority is to protect women’s reproductive rights by working to codify the rights secured in Roe v. Wade and coordinate an agreement with the DOJ concerning the unconstitutional provisions of SB8. Women deserve to be respected and protected by the Constitution, including the right to privacy and personal autonomy, and we will fight to protect a women’s right to choose.
Q: What is an issue you believe has gone overlooked in your race and how will you address it if elected?
A: Protecting public education is one of the more overlooked forms of injustice and a main focus for my campaign. As a former high school teacher and someone who has worked in education and school administration for years, I recognize that education is one of the biggest civil rights frontiers in the United States. Republicans have been trying to defund public education in Texas, which will affect millions since 1 in 10 children in America are educated here. Texas can’t continue to rely solely on property owners to carry the tax burden of funding education if we want to see improvement in our public school system. As Texas AG, I would use the office to challenge the existing property tax policies by partnering with educational funding reform groups. I will coordinate with school boards to fight against educational models promoted by the current AG that are non-inclusive, incomplete, and inaccurate. I am not only part of these communities of educators, but also a proven leader.
Q: Why are you the best candidate for voters to support for this position?
A: I am uniquely qualified to run the office of Texas Attorney General because I have spent my legal career doing the work of the “people’s lawyer” running one of the leading constitutional firms in the country. I have worked alongside the leading social reform organizations in our country – using the law to engineer social change. My work has been recognized by the NAACP, ACLU, Innocence Project, National Bar Association, SPLC, and National Urban League. I have represented families in executive conferences with the President of the United States, in session with the United States Senate and before the United Nations. In Texas, I served as Bernie Sander’s State Chair as well as on the Biden-Sanders transition team and as a delegate to the 2020 DNC. Additionally, I am a member of the Real Justice PAC, and the Texas Organizing Project, Grassroots Law Project/PAC Co-founder, and I have volunteered with the ACLU, the Innocence Project, and Roc Nation.
As an attorney and organizer, I have helped serve Texans during times of crisis, injustice and tragedy through work providing relief aid and through my constitutional practice. I have worked with prosecutors to help secure the first murder convictions of rogue police officers who have tarnished the badge. I have worked with community leaders to bring healing accountability and unity.
This work has led to protect overall public safety through the elimination of no-knock warrants, mandatory police camera usage, and assisting in implementing hate crime laws. As the son of a convict and teenage mom, I grew up among working class Americans and I have committed myself to improving the plight of our nation’s marginalized. I can run a campaign that will inspire the kind of enthusiasm we need to win and I have the experience necessary to bring the kind of change we need to move Texas in the right direction.