ICYMI: From An Indictment To An Alleged Affair, Ken Paxton’s Controversies Hang Over His Senate Bid [Texas Tribune]
Austin, Texas – Scandal-plagued Ken Paxton will be haunted by his decade-long record of corruption on the campaign trail, with Texas Tribune reporting this morning that it “will certainly be a liability” for him heading into November.
Paxton’s scandals include being impeached by his own party, reported by his own staff to the FBI, a divorce on “biblical grounds,” and giving an Epstein-style sweetheart deal that let a child molester back onto Texas streets in mere days. As a result, many Republicans in Texas have pledged not to vote for Paxton.
Read for yourself:
Texas Tribune - From an indictment to an alleged affair, Ken Paxton’s controversies hang over his Senate bid
June 22, 2026
By Alejandro Serrano
For most of the 11 years that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has held statewide office, scandals have followed him. And for just as long, political opponents have used his various legal troubles as campaign ammunition against Paxton in elections.
Those challengers have described the state’s top civil lawyer as a thief and a crook, amoral and corrupt.
Cornyn spent months and millions of dollars telling GOP primary voters about Paxton’s civil and criminal woes: Alleged affairs, an historic impeachment in the Legislature and a federal corruption probe among them.
Now Paxton is running for higher office and he’ll be at the top of the Texas GOP ballot for the first time, facing Democratic nominee state Rep. James Talarico of Austin, whose viral rails against Republican proposals quickly translated into a deafening buzz that helped establish him as a fundraising phenom.
Democrats hope the national political climate, fueled by backlash to President Trump’s policies and an unpopular war with Iran, produces a perfect storm to help Talarico become the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1988.
Like many Paxton opponents before him, Talarico is already focusing on Paxton’s past problems and drawing a contrast to himself.
While his tribulations might not be new, there’s ample evidence to suggest Republicans perceive them as disadvantages. Politico reported that Paxton’s victory has caused money panic among Republicans, with some estimating that it will cost the candidate and the party up to $150 million in the general election defending his baggage in what is normally a safe GOP state — on top of the more than $120 million Paxton, Cornyn and outside groups spent on advertising during the primary’s two rounds.
And polls suggest the race will be close. Paxton’s past legal troubles “will certainly be a liability, I don’t think there’s any question about that,” said Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
Paxton’s legal problems began in 2015, when a Collin County grand jury indicted the newly-elected attorney general on felony securities fraud charges — prosecutors accused him of misleading investors by recruiting them without disclosing that he was earning a commission on their business.
The case limped through courts for nearly nine years, before prosecutors ultimately struck a plea deal with Paxton in 2024 to drop the charges if he performed 100 hours of community service, among other conditions.
In 2020, eight of his top deputies in the attorney general’s office went to the FBI with a stunning accusation: Their boss had directed his office to take unusual and potentially illegal actions to help a donor and friend.
After that election, the whistleblowers’ accusations eventually led to the Texas House impeaching Paxton, who was ultimately acquitted in the state Senate of all impeachment articles in 2023.
The political trial centered around allegations that Paxton had repeatedly abused his office to help his donor in exchange for home renovations, as well as a claim that Paxton had an extramarital affair. Last year his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce on “biblical grounds.”
Paxton’s defeat of Cornyn set off hand-wringing among many national Republicans because of Paxton’s baggage and Talarico’s rapidly-growing political war chest. The Cook Political Report, a respected handicapper of political races, immediately switched the Texas Senate race from “likely Republican” to “lean Republican.”
In the first 24 hours after Paxton’s runoff win, Talarico reported adding $3 million to the more than $40 million he has raised so far.
Another big difference in this race is that Paxton will get much more attention and scrutiny at the top of the ticket, said Wilson, the SMU professor, adding that in previous elections Paxton did not engage much with the finer details of the various scandals because as a down-ballot candidate facing opponents with limited money, he didn’t have to.
“I don’t think he’s going to have that luxury this time,” Wilson said. “He’s going to have to speak to some of these things in somewhat more detail.”
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