Prominent GOP leaders are sounding the alarm about Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s U.S. Senate campaign as the scandal-tarred Republican faces new controversy and his Democratic rival breezed past him in fundraising.
Recent media reports have again highlighted accusations about Paxton’s marital infidelity and suggested he may have engaged in voter fraud. Meanwhile, Paxton’s opponent, Democrat state Rep. James Talarico, brought in a record-setting $30 million for the second quarter, compared to his own $9 million.
In a stark warning, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on right-wing commentator Sean Hannity’s radio show last week that Texas Democrats have a “real chance” this election cycle.
“I think this is a real race,” Cruz said. “I think it’s going to be close. I think we’re going to win, I think we’re going to keep Texas red, but the polling right now shows this is a 1- or 2-point race.”
Matthew Bartlett, a Republican strategist and a former Trump appointee to the State Department, was even more blunt in comments to MS Now over the weekend: “Texas is a mess. We’re kind of lucky more people aren’t paying attention.”
Bartlett’s remarks came days after Paxton was photographed in England over Independence Day weekend with his purported mistress, Christian influencer Tracy Duhon. The attorney general’s wife, Texas Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year on “biblical grounds,” alleging he committed adultery.
“America 250 — a huge celebration in DC and across the country,” Bartlett said of Paxton’s trip with Dun. “Where is Ken Paxton? In a parade? No, he’s in London with the new girl he’s dating? What is going on there? He has more baggage than a [Boeing] 747.
But that’s not the only Paxton controversy to emerge in the past few days.
The Texas Tribune and ProPublic on July 7 reported that the AG may have committed voter fraud by registering at an address in which he no longer lives, an ironic twist considering the frequent accusations he’s made about voter fraud, some echoing President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Paxton’s campaign hasn’t publicly commented about the voter fraud allegations or responded to The Current’s request for comment about his trip to London.
The latest New York Times/Siena poll shows Paxton and Talarico in a virtual tie. A separate survey by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin also showed a neck-and-neck race.
Texas Democratic Party spokesman Ryan Martin said in a statement that the numbers highlight the true sentiments of Texas voters.
“Voters are sick of puppet politicians like Ken Paxton who put lavish vacations before working families and break the very laws they are meant to enforce,” Martin said. “Paxton is the embodiment of the corrupt system and politics that Texans despise, and [they] will be holding him accountable this November.”
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