State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-TX) issued endorsements Tuesday for several Texas Republican candidates but conspicuously declined to take sides in the GOP Senate primary where her estranged husband, Attorney General Ken Paxton, is challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.
In a post on X, Angela Paxton urged voters to back state Sen. Mayes Middleton for attorney general—the same candidate Ken Paxton has endorsed to succeed him. She also threw her support behind Railroad Commission candidate Jim Wright and Thomas Smith, a contender for the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. But when it came to the high-stakes Senate race, she offered no preference.
Angela Paxton filed for divorce from the attorney general last year, citing “biblical grounds.” She wrote on X: “I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation. But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”
The divorce filing came amid a long-running scandal that has dogged Ken Paxton’s career. The attorney general was impeached in 2023 on charges of corruption and bribery, and has faced allegations of an extramarital affair. Despite those controversies, former President Donald Trump made a late endorsement of Paxton over Cornyn, a move that stunned many Senate Republicans.
“I don’t understand. He is an ethically challenged individual,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said of Paxton. “John Cornyn is an outstanding senator and deserved, in my judgment, the president’s support. Obviously it’s the president’s call but I’m disappointed that he did it.”
Trump’s backing has reshaped the race. In the March primary, Cornyn edged Paxton by about 32,000 votes, but the runoff now tilts in Paxton’s favor with Trump’s active support. On Tuesday, Trump urged Texas Republicans to vote for Paxton, calling him a “MAGA warrior” and criticizing Cornyn for insufficient loyalty.
The runoff is a test of Trump’s influence within the GOP, as Cornyn has sought to highlight his own conservative record and ties to the former president. For more on the dynamics, see Trump’s full-court press for Paxton and Cornyn’s uphill struggle.
Angela Paxton’s silence in the Senate race underscores the personal and political fractures within the Paxton family. Her endorsement of Middleton, however, aligns with her husband’s effort to install a loyalist as attorney general. Meanwhile, early voting turnout has surged but remains below March levels, as noted in this analysis of early voting trends.
The runoff election takes place Tuesday, with polls closing at 7 p.m. CT. The winner will face Democratic challenger Colin Allred in November, though the Republican primary is widely seen as the decisive contest in deep-red Texas.
