Ken Paxton is the three-term Texas Attorney General (2015-present) challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the 2026 GOP primary. Paxton is a hardline conservative who has sued the Obama and Biden administrations over environmental regulations, immigration, election fraud claims, and other issues. He is a Trump ally who led the failed Texas v. Pennsylvania lawsuit attempting to overturn the 2020 election and spoke at the January 6 rally. Paxton has survived impeachment, a whistleblower scandal, securities fraud charges (settled in 2024 with community service), and a divorce.
Ken Paxton was born Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr. and grew up on military bases. He received a B.A. in psychology and M.B.A. from Baylor University, then J.D. from University of Virginia School of Law. He worked as in-house counsel for JCPenney and headed his own law firm for 14 years. He served in the Texas House (10 years) and Texas Senate (2 years) before being elected Texas Attorney General in 2014. He has been AG for three terms (2015-present). Paxton has promoted Trump's policies and legal challenges aggressively. He is currently undergoing divorce from state Senator Angela Paxton after allegations of multiple affairs.