Democrats have flipped the attorney general's office in five Republican-leaning states in the midterm elections, in a result that could reshape how states challenge President Donald Trump's administration in court.

The victories in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Iowa and Kansas were reported by Reuters on Sunday, 8 November. The incoming attorneys general could halt cooperation with federal immigration operations, strengthen abortion access and join multistate challenges to the Trump administration's policies on the environment and guns.

The shift is a significant setback for the conservative legal movement, which has relied on Republican attorneys general over the past decade to challenge federal regulations, restrict gender-affirming care, curb diversity initiatives and expand gun access. One influential conservative lawyer, Mike Davis, described the Republican state attorney general offices as the tip of the spear of that movement and called losing them a major setback.

In Texas, the biggest prize, Democrat Nathan Johnson defeated Republican Mayes Middleton by roughly seven points. He will be the first Democratic attorney general in Texas since Dan Morales left the office in 1999, replacing Ken Paxton, who ran for the US Senate and lost. Johnson told Reuters: “The Texas AG's office has been operating as the private law firm of the MAGA movement. No more.”

Johnson said he planned to review initiatives launched under Paxton, including legal action against out-of-state abortion providers, claims linking over-the-counter medicines to autism and lawsuits challenging vaccine efficacy. He is also critical of the state's partnership with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and plans to review whether it should continue, saying the attorney general's office was never conceived as an extension of federal immigration enforcement. He also plans to refocus the office on antitrust and consumer protection and to rebuild a staff depleted by high turnover.

The five new attorneys general

In Georgia, Democrat Tanya Miller defeated Republican Brian Strickland by roughly 11 points. She will be the first woman to serve as Georgia's attorney general and the first Democrat to hold the office since 2010. A former federal prosecutor, Miller ran on public safety, consumer protection and government accountability, and has vowed to use the office's antitrust powers, with a focus on grocery and utility prices, scams and robocalls.

In Iowa, Democrat Nate Willems defeated Republican incumbent Brenna Bird by 51 to 49. Willems has pledged to prosecute corporate polluters and revive the office's consumer protection division, departing from Bird, who drew national attention for halting state reimbursements for abortions for rape victims. He also plans a dedicated unit to investigate wage theft and worker misclassification.

In Ohio, Democrat John Kulewicz defeated Republican State Auditor Keith Faber in a close race. He will be the first Democrat to lead the Ohio attorney general's office since Richard Cordray left in 2011. Kulewicz campaigned on curbing corporate price gouging and tackling Medicaid provider and nursing home fraud, and has said he has far less interest in taking part in culture-war cases around the country.

In Kansas, Democrat Chris Mann narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Kris Kobach, running as a nonpartisan, law-enforcement-first candidate. Mann said he wanted to refocus the office away from political agendas, but he is concerned about immigration raids in parts of the state and plans to review all of his predecessor's lawsuits, including one that challenged access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

What changes in the courts

The new attorneys general could change the course of several pending lawsuits. Texas is among the states suing the US Food and Drug Administration over its approval of mifepristone; if Texas withdraws, Florida, where Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier won a new term, would be the remaining plaintiff. In Kansas, Mann could withdraw the state from a separate challenge to regulations that expanded access to mifepristone, leaving Missouri and Idaho as plaintiffs. In Georgia, Miller's election could affect the state's defence of HB 481, the 2019 law banning abortion after six weeks.

Taken together, the five flips take Democrats to 29 attorneys general against 22 for the Republicans, according to law firm WilmerHale. With the loss of the key offices, conservative legal leaders are shifting their focus to Florida. Uthmeier has vowed to keep leading the fights, but the Florida office is roughly a third of the size of the Texas department, which the Republican Attorneys General Association has hailed as the party's premier source of legal talent.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The White House referred to previous comments from Trump in which he said Republicans lost in the midterms because he was not on the ballot. The new attorneys general are due to take office in January, when the practical effects of the five flips will start to be felt in courtrooms across the country.