As he stood before supporters following his lopsided win this week over incumbent John Cornyn in the Republican runoff to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate, Ken Paxton singled out President Donald Trump for helping him seal the victory.
Referring to Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement that propelled him over the finish line, the thrice-elected Texas Attorney General told the crowd that “everyone in Washington told him to abandon me.”
In a political career spanning more than two decades, Paxton has had almost as many scandals as election victories, including being the first statewide elected official in the Lone Star State since 1917 to be impeached.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks during a primary runoff election night event after winning the Republican party’s nomination, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas.
Tony Gutierrez/AP Photo
In his endorsement, Trump, who was impeached twice in his first term in the White House, called Paxton “loyal” and a “true MAGA warrior.”
Paxton’s win sets up a midterm face-off in November with Democratic nominee James Talarico, a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 2018.
President Donald Trump walks with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, left, at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Austin, Nov. 20, 2019.
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
Here is a timeline of the ups and downs of the 63-year-old Paxton’s controversial career prior to his election victory on Tuesday:
November 2002 — The son of an Air Force veteran and a corporate lawyer who started his own law firm, Paxton enters the political arena, winning a seat in the Texas House of Representatives. He was reelected to the House in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010.
Rep. Ken Paxton questions a witness during a meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee, Feb. 10, 2005, in Austin, Texas.
Harry Cabluck/AP Photo
November 2012 — Paxton wins a seat in the Texas State Senate, representing Collin and Dallas counties.
November 2014 — Paxton is elected the 51st Attorney General of Texas. In his first major initiative as attorney general, he establishes a special unit dedicated to combating human trafficking in the state.
August 2015 — A Texas grand jury hands up a three-count felony indictment against Paxton, charging him with two counts of first-degree securities fraud and one count of failing to register with the state securities board. The charges pre-date Paxton’s tenure as state Attorney General. The most serious charge alleges that he encouraged people to invest in Servergy, a Texas technology company, without revealing he was earning a commission for their investments. Paxton is arrested after turning himself in and pleads not guilty to the charges.
Ken Paxton joins hands with family members during a prayer after he was sworn in as the Texas Attorney General, Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, in Austin, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP Photo
April 2016 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announces federal fraud charges against Paxton, stemming from the Servergy investigation. Paxton pleads not guilty to the charges. A federal judge in 2017 dismisses the federal case against Paxton.
November 2018 — Paxton narrowly wins re-election as state Attorney General.
October 2020 — Seven top staff members of the state Attorney General’s Office send a letter to the agency’s human resources director, accusing Paxton of accepting bribes and abusing the power of his office. Paxton denies the allegations and releases a statement accusing the employees of making false statements.
December 2020 — In an attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election, Paxton files a lawsuit against battleground states Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The suit claims that pandemic-era changes to election procedures in those states violated federal law and asks the U.S. Supreme Court to block the states from voting in the Electoral College. The Supreme Court rejects the case.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Washington, March 2, 2016, after the court heard arguments over Texas abortion clinic regulations in its biggest abortion case in nearly a quarter-century.
Susan Walsh/AP
July 2022 — Paxton files the first legal challenge to then-President Joe Biden’s executive order aimed at protecting access to abortion nationwide after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Paxton accuses the administration of turning emergency health care providers into “walk-in abortion clinics.”
November 2022 — Paxton wins his third term as Texas Attorney General.
May 2023 — The Republican-led Texas House of Representatives votes 121-23 to impeach Paxton, accusing him of misusing his power to aid friends and donors. He is immediately suspended from office. Paxton, the first Texas statewide elected official impeached in more than a century, denies wrongdoing and releases a defiant statement calling the vote to impeach him “unjust” and a partisan “sham.”
Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton, center, sits with his attorneys Dan Cogdell and Tony Buzbee, front, during the his impeachment trial in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol, Sept. 5, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
Eric Gay/AP Photo
September 2023 — Texas state Senate votes to acquit Paxton on all 16 articles of impeachment. Paxton resumes his job as state Attorney General.
March 2024 — Just weeks before he is scheduled to go to trial on securities fraud charges stemming from the state indictment filed against him in 2015, Paxton reaches a pretrial agreement with prosecutors to resolve the case. Paxton agrees to complete a series of actions, including doing community service, taking legal ethics courses, and paying nearly $300,000 in restitution. Not required to admit guilt, Paxton releases a statement, saying, “There will never be a conviction in this case nor am I guilty.”
April 4, 2025 — A judge rules that Paxton violated the Texas Whistleblower Act when he fired four Attorney General office employees who sent a letter to the agency’s human resources director. Paxton’s office is ordered to pay the former employees $6.6 million.
April 8, 2025 — Paxton announces he is running for U.S. Senate, challenging Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who has held the seat for 22 years.
July 2025 — Paxton’s wife of more than three decades, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, announces she is filing for divorce “on biblical grounds,” accusing her husband of committing adultery.
“After facing the pressures of countless political attacks and public scrutiny, Angela and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives,” Paxton writes in a statement in response to the filing. “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.”