Short bio: Ken Paxton is an attorney and longtime Republican officeholder who has served as Texas Attorney General since 2015. Before becoming attorney general, he served in both chambers of the Texas Legislature and practiced law in North Texas.

Major Financial Supporters
Includes major donors to candidate-aligned independent super PACs. Super PAC contributions are not contributions directly to the candidate and cannot legally be coordinated with the campaign.

Biggest financial supporters: Major donors to Lone Star Liberty PAC, the principal super PAC supporting Paxton, have included Jonathan Knutz (~$1.1M), Preserve Texas Inc. (~$950K), Douglas Scharbauer (~$750K), Gary Heavin (~$500K) and Chelsey Milton (~$500K). Darwin and Doug Deason have also been significant Paxton supporters.

AIPAC money: NO current AIPAC backing identified. Importantly, this isn't simply an omission: recent reporting says AIPAC has not endorsed either Paxton or Talarico in the 2026 Senate race. Paxton has adopted an “America First” foreign-policy position emphasizing U.S. interests and opposition to open-ended foreign spending.

Top issue positions:

Economy / cost of living: Supports broad tax reductions and deductions, including proposed deductions related to home down payments, health expenses and “healthy living” expenses; favors deregulation and domestic manufacturing.

Immigration / border: Supports completing the border wall, increased deportations and aggressive federal immigration enforcement; points to his lawsuits against Biden administration immigration policies as part of his record.

Abortion: Opposes abortion and describes his position as defending the unborn.

Guns: Strongly supports Second Amendment protections and opposes additional federal restrictions on gun rights.

Energy: Supports reducing federal regulation of oil and gas producers and expanding American energy production.

Health / health care: Campaigns on taking on pharmaceutical and food companies, increasing health-system and food transparency, and advancing the Trump administration's “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.

LGBTQ / education: Opposes transgender participation in girls' sports and what his campaign characterizes as gender-ideology or LGBTQ-focused instruction in schools; emphasizes parental rights.

Foreign policy: Supports an “America First” approach emphasizing U.S. national interests, “peace through strength,” and opposition to open-ended foreign spending.

Federal government: Supports reducing federal spending, taxes and regulation and says he would continue challenging what he views as federal overreach.

Cryptocurrency: Supports pro-crypto regulation and legislation such as the CLARITY Act, arguing the U.S. should become a global leader in digital assets.

Misconduct & Scandals

Felony securities-fraud indictment: A Texas grand jury indicted Paxton in 2015 on two felony securities-fraud counts and one count involving failure to register as an investment adviser. Prosecutors alleged that he recruited investors into a technology company without disclosing that the company was compensating him for soliciting investments. Paxton pleaded not guilty. After nearly nine years, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the charges under a pretrial agreement requiring Paxton to pay restitution, complete 100 hours of community service and take legal-ethics courses. He was not convicted.

Corruption/bribery allegations & impeachment: Eight senior employees in Paxton's Attorney General's Office reported him to the FBI in 2020, alleging that he abused his office to benefit friend and campaign donor Nate Paul. Allegations included using government resources to assist Paul and providing him confidential information; House investigators also alleged that Paul provided benefits to Paxton in return. The Republican-controlled Texas House impeached Paxton in 2023, but the Texas Senate acquitted him on all 16 articles it considered and dismissed the remaining four. A federal investigation followed, but the Justice Department ultimately declined to prosecute Paxton.

Whistleblower retaliation judgment: Four former senior aides who reported Paxton to the FBI sued after being fired. In 2025, a Texas judge found that the Attorney General's Office violated the Texas Whistleblower Act and awarded the former employees approximately $6.6 million. Unlike the impeachment allegations, this resulted in an actual civil judgment. Paxton initially said he would appeal but later dropped the appeal, leaving Texas responsible for the judgment.

Extramarital affair: During Paxton's impeachment proceedings, former aides testified about an alleged long-running extramarital affair. Investigators alleged that Nate Paul later employed the woman, which made the affair relevant to the corruption investigation rather than merely Paxton's private life. In 2025, Paxton's wife, Texas Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce on “biblical grounds” and publicly accused him of adultery.

Voter-registration/address controversy (2026): ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported that Paxton continued voting using the address of the home he previously shared with his estranged wife even though evidence indicated he may not have lived there for roughly two years. The reporting concluded that the circumstances may have violated Texas election law. This attracted particular scrutiny because Paxton has made voter-fraud prosecutions a major part of his tenure as attorney general.