Texas Republicans Declare They Won’t Vote for Paxton in November as His Record of Corruption & Self-Enrichment Raises Concerns
Fort Worth Star Telegram: “Some Republicans aren’t buying. There’s ‘not a chance in hell’ [lifelong Republican voter] Jason Baldwin is voting for Paxton in November”
Texas Republicans are pledging not to vote for corrupt Ken Paxton as their nominee for U.S. Senate as concerns mount that Paxton is morally “unfit for office” and “failing the State of Texas.”
The Fort Worth Star Telegram spoke with former GOP elected officials in Texas and “lifelong Republican” voters who say that supporting Paxton in November is a nonstarter due to his record of corruption, self-enrichment, and cheering an agenda that’s spiking the cost of gas and groceries across the state. As Paxton faces a barrage of headlines over “reduc[ing] the charges” and cutting a “plea deal [...] to a Waco man charged with repeatedly sexually abusing a young boy,” GOP voters know he represents everything about the corrupt, rigged system that Texans hate.
See for yourself:
Fort Worth Star Telegram: GOP’s hard-right turn has these Republicans unsure they’ll vote for Paxton
June 2, 2026
By Eleanor Dearman
Former Southlake Mayor John Huffman is struggling to see a place for himself in a Republican Party that put Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on the November ballot for U.S. Senate.
For Huffman, who most recently ran as a Republican in a special election for state Senate in North Texas, Paxton’s victory despite perceived character flaws has him questioning what do in November, when Paxton will face Democrat James Talarico, an Austin-area Texas House representative, for the statewide seat.
Some Texas Republicans say they feel unheard and left behind in the version of the GOP where those furthest to the political right are running the show and controlling the party’s message.
It’s these voters that Republicans need to ingratiate in the five months before the Nov. 3 general election, Huffman said. It’s also these voters Democrats will try to attract. ‘The party seems to not be listening’
Huffman isn’t alone in his dissatisfaction on the Senate runoff’s outcome or his lack of clarity about what to do come November.
Former U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price all said as much in interviews with the Star-Telegram.
“For those of us who were Cornyn supporters the party seems to not be listening,” Price said in an email. “These are lifelong Republicans who may either not vote in November or vote for the other party.”
In a text message, Price called Paxton “corrupt and immoral” and said she won’t vote for him.
Talarico says any Texan who “doesn’t want a crook as their U.S. senator” has a place in his campaign. “If I had to sum up my message to John Cornyn’s supporters looking for an alternative to corrupt Ken Paxton, I’d tell them this: I don’t answer to any one political party. I answer to you, the people of Texas,” the Democrat said in a written statement.
Whitley said he might flip again, this time in the U.S. Senate race. “Talarico is looking real good to me,” Whitley said. “I won’t vote for Paxton. Period. End of statement.”
Price said she doesn’t know that there’s a place for her in the Republican Party as it currently exists: “I don’t think there is one right now,” she said.
There’s “not a chance in hell” Jason Baldwin is voting for Paxton in November. “Character matters,” he said. “I don’t care if you’re Republican, Democrat, white, Black, yellow, green: We all have a character, and Ken Paxton does not align with that for me.”
San Antonio Current: Travis County Republicans make new rule: no more pro-Talarico posts allowed
May 29, 2026
The Travis County Republicans Facebook group isin disarray as it grapples with a problem: too many members are posting positive things about state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Texas’ contested U.S. Senate seat.
Finally, an admin in the Austin-area group had enough and posted a message to the group on Thursday.
“No pro-Talarico posts allowed! Even if you don’t personally like one of our Republican nominees, support for their Democrat or third-party opponent is your own private business,” admin Andy Hogue wrote.
Hogue added that while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton might not be the ideal candidate for many Republicans, this is a “love the one you’re with” situation.
“Look: we’ve all been there and have had Republican primary candidates we did not personally favor make the general (leaving a ballot race blank is acceptable, by the way). And once every double mega blue harvest moon there’s a Democrat we kind of like,” he said. “But this is a Republican forum! We stand together with Republican voters, and that’s final — all fair critiques notwithstanding.”
As the Current established earlier, many Republicans very loudly warned that Paxton would be a disastrous candidate, and now, here they are facing the consequences.
USA Today: Texas Republicans once impeached Paxton. Now his Senate run splits them
June 2, 2026
By Mateo Rosiles
Ken Paxton's victory in the Republican Senate primary has resurfaced internal splits within the Texas GOP, with former impeachment supporter House Speaker Dustin Burrows now endorsing him while Rep. Jeff Leach and ex Speaker Dade Phelan continue to voice serious concerns about his candidacy and accountability.
Three years after a majority of Texas House Republicans voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, the divisions from that vote are resurfacing as he runs for U.S. Senate.
The articles included allegations of abuse of office, bribery and misuse of taxpayer funds, but Paxton was later acquitted by the Texas Senate.
Leach won't move on from Paxton — and a Waco plea deal
The Plano Republican, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee — which has jurisdiction over Paxton's office — voted to impeach Paxton and survived Paxton's attempt to replace him in the House with another candidate in his 2024 election.
He backed Cornyn in the runoff and threatened to subpoena Paxton over a plea deal unrelated to the Senate race. Instead, Leach raised the question days before the runoff of what kind of attorney general the party would nominate for the U.S. Senate and asked voters to "vote accordingly."
During the runoff election, Paxton was taking heat from Cornyn's camp over a "sweetheart" deal his office had given to Waco attorney Adam Hoffman.
In that case, as the El Paso Times, part of USA TODAY Network, reported, Hoffman was facing a life sentence for the sexual abuse of a child that lasted three years. However, Paxton's office intervened and offered a plea deal: 60 days in county jail. No mandatory registration as a sex offender. No permanent loss of Hoffman’s law license.
Leach called the deal "incomprehensible" and sent a letter to Paxton on May 6 demanding answers about how it came about.
"This inquiry is not about politics. It is about accountability, transparency, and restoring public confidence in a justice system that victims are asked to trust during the most painful moments of their lives," Leach wrote.
"If my House Judiciary Committee has to subpoena Ken Paxton himself to explain this — be assured that we will do so. We deserve answers. And this is not going away," Leach said in his post.
Former Speaker Dade Phelan led the House during the Paxton impeachment.
During the trial, Phelan led the chamber through the impeachment, defended the process and survived Paxton's attempt to replace him in the House and the Texas Republican Party's censure. Phelan even backed Cornyn during the runoff.
"I've said this a million times—Paxton’s lazy. So, with this Talarico-Paxton as the matchup, we have a problem in Texas because the guy's never been at the top of the ticket and had to run a major race. He's always been coattails,” Phelan said to Newsweek.
Phelan also suggested that there is a faction of Republicans who would not vote for Paxton under any circumstances, and warned that under those conditions, Republicans could lose their edge in the state's legislature and judiciary.
The split among Burrows, Phelan and Leach reflects a Republican Party in Texas that has tried over the past three years to put the Paxton impeachment and allegations behind it, only to confront them head-on once more in a race Republicans thought they could coast through.
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