Texas Land Commissioner George P Bush talks with supporters Tuesday at the Foundry Coffee House in Tyler where he spoke about his campaign for Texas attorney general.

1. Released Feb. 20: Latest DMN-UT Tyler poll

Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush on Tuesday visited the Foundry Coffee House in Tyler where he discussed his candidacy for attorney general.

Bush faces incumbent Attorney General Ken Paxton, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman in the March primary.

“Ken Paxton, if he’s our nominee, will lose to the Democrats, and the Democrats will have their first statewide office in close to 30 years,” Bush said. “The risk is too large.”

He said he is traveling throughout the region to learn and listen to people to better help them in Austin. He added that he will take on the “corruption” of state, county and local government in Texas.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office is “trusted with busting not only voting fraud but political crimes and public integrity cases, but unfortunately because of our current leadership, the Legislature will never entrust the state AG office to take on corruption in the state of Texas,” Bush said.

He added that he does not intend to “assault” Paxton, but the AG is facing three felony counts and an FBI investigation involving bribery, corruption and abuse of office. If Paxton is innocent, he could “clear the air and sit down for a jury trial,” Bush said.

“Whether you’re innocent or guilty, this cloud of legal suspicion is affecting job performance,” he said.

If elected, Bush said he looks to improve the AG’s office, support law enforcement, secure the border, stand for people’s rights and more.

“I couldn’t agree more that law enforcement is under assault, not only around the country, but now in red Texas,” Bush said.

In Austin, Bush said the “defund the police movement” has removed $200 million form the city’s budget. Defunding the police in the state’s capital led to higher rates of homicide, murders, violent crimes and even caused families and businesses to move away, he said.

“I’m the only candidate in this race that’s actually talking with law enforcement, hearing their concerns on the front lines whether it’s rural Texas, suburban Texas or urban Texas,” Bush said.

Through talking with law enforcement, Bush said he wants to propose the Law Enforcement Bill of Rights in Texas, which would provide officers with protection from investigation and prosecution that arise as a result of performing official duties.

Bush said he is also visiting with grassroots conservatives about securing the southern border. He said he is the only candidate to have traveled the entirety of the border from El Paso to Brownsville multiple times.

When it comes to the border, “Deploying (the National Guard) … is one step in this, but we also need to finish the Trump wall,” he said.

Bush said he will be proposing to deploy a global prosecution unit to help county district attorneys and sheriffs prosecute criminal trespassing. Texas would be “arresting illegals on site instead of waiting for Biden and Harris to maybe do their job,” he said.

Along with border control, Bush added he will work to be tougher on the cartels, delegating them as terrorist organizations.

In recent polls, Bush said the AG’s race looks like it will go into a runoff in which he is in “a strong second position.”

According to a Dallas Morning News-University of Texas at Tyler poll released Sunday, Paxton leads with 39% to 25% for Bush, 13% for Guzman and 7% for Gohmert.

“That’s a great sign for our campaign because we’ve said since Day 1 that a majority of Republicans want a change,” he said. “They don’t want an indicted felon — they don’t want that liability on the ticket.”