Nathan Johnson to Lead Texas AG Office After Anime Career
The Fort Worth lawyer and state senator will become the first Democratic attorney general in Texas in over a decade after winning Tuesday's election.
By Zoe Harrison ·
Nathan Johnson will take office as the next Texas attorney general after winning Tuesday's midterm election.
The Fort Worth lawyer and state senator defeated Republican State Representative Mays Middleton in a race that marked a sweeping victory for Democrats across Texas statewide offices. Johnson secured 52.4% of the vote, while Middleton received 45.9%.
Before entering public service, Johnson built a career in the music industry. From 2005 to 2006, he composed the full musical scores for 67 episodes of the English-language release of the anime series Dragon Ball Z. He also composed music for five of the franchise's movies during that period.
Johnson ran a music production company in the early 2000s when Funimation Productions, the studio behind the English dub, was located in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Fort Worth. The studio is now known as Crunchyroll, LLC. Johnson said that producing soundtracks for the show remains a source of pride for him.
In an interview with the Texas Standard, Johnson explained how his background in creativity influences his legal work. He said he uses the creative parts of his brain to examine problems and find solutions from different angles. "It’s certainly fun and it reminds everybody that all of us are real people and we’ve had real lives," Johnson said. He added that working as an artist allows him to see relationships and connections that others might miss.
Johnson first entered state politics in 2018 when he won the seat for Texas’ 16th Senate District, which covers parts of Dallas County. He defeated the Republican incumbent, Don Huffines, in that race. He won reelection to the same district in 2024.
As attorney general, Johnson will be the first Democrat to hold the post since Dan Morales, who served from 1991 to 1999.
