Ken Paxton

Details

Elected Date

2022-11-08

Organization

Texas State Government

Biography

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the 51st attorney general of Texas since 2015. He is the Republican Party nominee in the 2026 United States Senate election in Texas. Born in Minot, North Dakota, Paxton was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 2003 to 2013 and represented the eighth district in the Texas Senate from 2013 to 2015. In 2015, Paxton was indicted on state securities fraud charges relating to activities before taking office; he pleaded not guilty. After Paxton fulfilled a pretrial agreement for restitution to the victims, ethics training, and community service, the charges were dismissed in 2025. In May 2023, Paxton was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 121–23, leading to his suspension. The articles of impeachment included allegations that Paxton gave preferential treatment to a political donor who bribed him, misapplied public resources and made false statements against whistleblowers, obstructed justice in the securities fraud trial against him, and made false statements regarding his financial interests. In September 2023, the Texas Senate voted 16–14 to acquit Paxton of all articles of impeachment, ending his suspension from office. An ultraconservative or far-right politician, Paxton is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump. After Joe Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Trump refused to concede while making false claims of election fraud, Paxton aided Trump in his efforts to overturn the result. He filed the unsuccessful Texas v. Pennsylvania case in the U.S. Supreme Court and spoke at the rally Trump held on January 6, 2021 that preceded the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Throughout the course of Biden's presidency, Paxton pursued legal action against the administration 106 times. In April 2025, Paxton announced that he would run for the United States Senate in the 2026 election in Texas, challenging incumbent senator John Cornyn. Following a primary election, Paxton defeated Cornyn in a runoff for the Republican nomination. He will face Democrat James Talarico in the general election.

From the English Wikipedia article “Ken Paxton”, available under CC BY-SA.