A divorce announcement on X last week just upended an already must-watch U.S. Senate race — and sparked a megadrama of Texas-sized proportions.
State Sen. Angela Paxton announced Thursday that she filed for divorce from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, after years of the latter facing allegations of public extramarital affairs, criminal indictments and impeachment hearings. In a post on X, the state senator said she was filing on “biblical grounds” and “in light of recent discoveries.” For those not fluent in Evangelical, Texas Monthly provided a translation: “What is ‘biblical grounds’ for divorce? The short answer is: cheating.”
The announcement is a well-timed bruising for the long-embattled but seemingly untouchable attorney general.
Angela Paxton’s announcement, though, is more than grist for the gossip mill. Since Ken Paxton is running to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and has positioned himself as an “anti-establishment MAGA warrior,” the post from his soon-to-be ex-wife was met with a torrent of schadenfreude and jeers online. The primary race was already a must-watch: Paxton just announced a $2.9 million fundraising haul and polls from both Paxton-allied and Cornyn-allied super PACs show the attorney general with a clear lead over the incumbent, who managed to outraise Paxton by $1 million.
Now it promises to be even more expensive and more brutal, as the candidates and their surrogates increasingly engage in highly personal attacks that expand on years-old divides among Texas Republicans.
The announcement is a well-timed bruising for the long-embattled but seemingly untouchable attorney general, who was first elected in 2014 and has since managed to stave off multiple indictments and a bitter impeachment attempt that extensively aired allegations Paxton had an extramarital affair, exposed volatile fissures within the Texas GOP, and sparked an open civil war between the hard-right and more centrist leaning wings of the party.
After Angela Paxton’s announcement, Paxton responded with his own post on X, stating that “after facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny” the two “have decided to start a new chapter in our lives.”
“I could not be any more proud or grateful for the incredible family that God has blessed us with, and I remain committed to supporting our amazing children and grandchildren,” he wrote. “I ask for your prayers and privacy at this time.” Paxton did not comment on his wife’s allegations.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee — the Senate GOP’s campaign committee — pounced on the news to take a swipe at Paxton. “What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said. “No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.”
The explanation for an official arm of the Senate GOP caucus attacking a GOP candidate goes beyond Cornyn being the incumbent. “Democrats believe, and some Republicans fear, Paxton would be a weaker general candidate who could finally put the Lone Star State in play,” Politico reported Monday. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in more than 30 years, but Paxton has consistently run behind other Republicans such as Gov. Greg Abbott, thanks to his record of scandals. And Paxton’s challenge fits a broader trend of well-funded far-right challengers taking aim at conservative incumbents in Texas.
That history is worth a brief recap.
In 2015, Paxton was indicted on felony charges of securities fraud, including defrauding a then-colleague in the Texas House. The legal battle dragged on until a settlement was reached in March of last year, which included Paxton agreeing to do 100 hours of community service and pay nearly $300,000 in restitution.
When Paxton asked the state government to pay the $3.3 million, the state Legislature balked.
In 2020, several of his top aides in the Office of the Attorney General accused him of firing them after reporting him to the FBI for, in the words of The Associated Press, “misusing his office to help one of his campaign contributors, who also employed a woman with whom the attorney general acknowledged having an extramarital affair.”
The contributor, an Austin real estate developer named Nate Paul, was under federal fraud investigation (he was arrested in 2023 and earlier this year pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to a lending institution). According to Paxton’s aides, the attorney general used his office to help Paul in a civil lawsuit. In return, the aides said, Paul employed Paxton’s alleged mistress and helped Paxton continue his affair through a secret Uber account that Paul and Paxton shared. An aide also claimed that Paul paid for Paxton’s kitchen to be renovated with granite countertops. Paxton denied the allegations, but eventually offered to settle a lawsuit from the whistleblowers for $3.3 million.
But when Paxton asked the state government to pay the $3.3 million, the state Legislature balked, with lawmakers undertaking their own investigation of his conduct as attorney general. In May 2023, the Texas House voted overwhelmingly to impeach Paxton. During a trial presided over by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — who took a $3 million donation from a pro-Paxton PAC in the run-up to the Senate proceedings — Paxton was acquitted in the Senate in September 2023. Earlier this month, the state of Texas agreed to pay $6.6 million to four of the whistleblowers from taxpayer funds.
Through all these scandals, though, the far right’s support for the attorney general hasn’t wavered. In no small part, that’s because Paxton has long been seen as one of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies who is willing to go to great lengths to support the president’s agenda. After the 2020 election, for instance, Paxton asked the Supreme Court to throw out other states’ election results; the Texas State Bar filed a complaint alleging that Paxton “misrepresented” facts in that lawsuit, and only dropped its attempt to discipline the Texas attorney general after Trump returned to office. No wonder, then, that MAGA influencers like Laura Loomer have jumped into the fray with their own allegations of sordid behavior against the Cornyn campaign.
MAGA loyalty to Paxton is a problem for Cornyn because the GOP primary electorate in Texas has shifted further to the right since he was first elected to the Senate in 2002. The senator’s favorability ratings have declined relative to statewide elected officials like Paxton, who has seen his political star rise in correlation with the strength of the far right in Texas.
Should Cornyn manage to prevent Trump from supporting Paxton, he could have a fighting chance.
The two have sought to draw sharp distinctions. Cornyn has called Paxton a “con man and a fraud” for his spotted past. Paxton has branded Cornyn a RINO — Republican In Name Only — for some of his votes, namely Cornyn’s backing of bipartisan legislation on gun safety following the 2022 Uvalde school shooting and his support for U.S. aid to Ukraine.
At this point in the race, Paxton and Cornyn are fighting for Trump’s support — or at the very least, for Trump to not weigh in favor of their opponent. Not surprisingly, Paxton has the edge. Not only has he received praise from Trump, but Trump has also openly criticized Cornyn as a “RINO” in the past, and Cornyn expressed criticism of Trump in 2016 and 2024. But in recent months, Cornyn has sought to alter this dynamic by emphasizing his support for the president and allegiance to his agenda, hiring staffers in Trump’s orbit, and has supported all of Trump’s Cabinet appointments
Should Cornyn manage to prevent Trump from supporting Paxton, he could have a fighting chance — particularly if his allies in the Senate GOP can convince primary voters that Paxton is a corrupt and hypocritical philanderer who quotes the Bible but doesn’t follow its precepts. But Paxton has proven thus far to have Teflon skin and the challenge for Cornyn is getting something to stick.
Whether any of that matters to voters, and whether they hear about any of it at all, are the questions that will ultimately decide this Republican primary. But in the end, given Cornyn’s voting record, the difference will be a matter of degrees for Texans who hold a dim view of Trump’s agenda.