Ken Paxton defeats incumbent John Cornyn in the Texas GOP Senate runoff, meaning that the best the Texas GOP has to offer is a scandal-ridden adulterer who was impeached by his own party for abusing his power as Attorney General.
“Ken Paxton is bereft of any semblance of morality in both personal and professional capacities,” said American Bridge 21st Century spokesperson Gus Nathanson. “He let sex traffickers and pedophiles walk free, he was impeached for abusing his power, and he has had multiple affairs. By all accounts, he is a rotten man who has no place representing Texans in the Senate.”
Senate Republicans were quick to express their displeasure with Paxton when he emerged as a frontrunner in the runoff. Paxton received glaring criticisms from:
- Lisa Murkowski, who claimed that Paxton jeopardized a key Senate seat
- Bill Cassidy, who stated that Paxton “could reasonably be indicted for a felony.”
- Susan Collins, who called Paxton “an ethically challenged individual.”
- Lindsey Graham, who stated that Paxton would make the Texas Senate race “three times more expensive.”
- Roger Wicker, who “remained stone-faced” when asked for his thoughts on Paxton.
- John Thune, who was also reportedly “stone-faced” when asked about Paxton.
- A Thune-affiliated fundraising group spent more than $10 million helping Cornyn.
- John Cornyn, who said Paxton was a “weak nominee who jeopardizes everything we care about” prior to his defeat.
- National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez, who stated that Ken Paxton’s infidelity was “truly repulsive and disgusting.”
- The NRSC also invested millions of dollars into Cornyn’s campaign.
Paxton’s record as Texas Attorney General contains a bevy of reasons why he should not be a Senator. He offered a plea involving a one-day jail sentence deal to a man charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a young boy. In a similar incident, he offered a man charged with sex trafficking minors a plea deal that contained zero jail time and kept him off the sex offender registry. That man was eventually rearrested for attempted armed robbery.
Paxton has no problem making Texans pay for his bad behavior, even using taxpayer funds to settle a lawsuit against him. Seven of his staffers shared a whistleblower complaint with the FBI, citing Paxton as “frantic” and “obsessive.” Paxton fired four of the staffers, calling them “rogue employees,” which led to a wrongful termination suit that was settled with state funds rather than Paxton’s own money.
Throughout his time as Attorney General, Ken Paxton made it clear who his priority was. After the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, which claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers, Paxton dismissed the tragedy by saying, “Life is short, no matter what it is,” and “God has a plan.” Then in 2023, he was impeached by his own party for abusing his power as Attorney General to benefit his friend and political donor, Austin real estate investor Nate Paul, in exchange for free home renovations.
Paxton’s moral and ethical corruption extends beyond the scope of his work, with multiple extramarital affairs under his belt. His first affair, dating back to 2018, was with Laura Olson, whom he later recommended for a job with the aforementioned Nate Paul. Paxton’s ongoing divorce from Angela Paxton made national headlines when she announced that her decision followed “recent discoveries” and claimed the divorce was filed on “biblical grounds.” And soon after that, reports started circulating of Paxton having a second affair with influencer Tracy Duhon.
Complete and utter moral bankruptcy has no place in the Senate, meaning Ken Paxton deserves to lose this November.
Published: May 26, 2026