Monday, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) announced their new leadership team as they look ahead to the 2019 elections. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will be the Chairman and Alabama AG Steve Marshall will serve on the group’s executive committee.
“The trust of Texas voters, and of my fellow Republican attorneys general, must be earned,” said RAGA Chairman, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “I’m honored to receive their trust and excited to get to work as chairman. 2018 was a challenging year, but the Republican Attorneys General Association is a formidable organization that has proven it can win in any political environment. I’m excited to build on that success, because we’re going on offense in 2019 to elect rule of law champions in Kentucky and Mississippi, as well as re-elect Attorney General Jeff Landry in Louisiana. I will pledge to always stand up for the law, to stand up for an individual’s right to govern themselves.”
“The chief law enforcement officer has a primary responsibility to protect the people,” said RAGA Vice-Chairman Indiana AG Curtis Hill. “I’m proud to stand with Ken and the rest of my colleagues in working to elect more Republican AGs who will protect our communities and stand for the rule of law.”
The 2018-2019 Executive Committee includes: Chairman Ken Paxton, Texas; Vice-Chairman Curtis Hill, Indiana; Attorney General Chris Carr, Georgia; Attorney General Jeff Landry, Louisiana; Attorney General Steve Marshall, Alabama; Attorney General Doug Peterson, Nebraska; Attorney General Sean Reyes, Utah; Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas (past Chairman, 2017-2018); and Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Kansas.
Some of Marshall’s political opponents tried to make a campaign issue out of RAGA contributions in the election; but ultimately Marshall won both the Republican primary runoff and the general election handily. A complaint was filed with the Alabama Ethics Commission during the Republican primary. The commission is still reviewing the details of that complaint, which claimed that the RAGA contributions were illicit under Alabama law because Alabama political actions committees (PACs) are not allowed to take contributions from other political action committees. Marshall’s campaign argued that the Alabama ban on PAC to PAC transfers does not apply to federal PACs, which are not regulated by the state of Alabama.
