When José Garza won his primary race for district attorney last week, John Nichols at the Nation announced that “Austin, Texas just voted to end its drug war.” The Appeal called Garza’s victory “a milestone for drug decriminalization.” The Texarkana Gazette feared that Garza’s “experiment” would make “Austin a safe haven for small-time drug dealers and users.” The Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which endorsed Garza and of which he is a member, called his victory “a mandate to reimagine justice and to end the oppressive criminalization of skin color and poverty.”

Jacobin’s Meagan Day spoke to Travis County district attorney candidate José Garza about his personal and political background, the coalition that pushed him to victory, the sea change happening in Texas politics, and the responsibility Garza feels to the millions of ordinary people in the streets demanding an end to injustice at the hands of police and prosecutors.