Who is Ken Paxton? Texas attorney general in Senate primary runoff

Texas' attorney general is running in a high-profile senate runoff.

The national spotlight on Tuesday, May 26, will be on Ken Paxton's runoff against U.S. Senator John Cornyn for the GOP nomination for November's Senate race. Paxton is a staunch MAGA ally who earned the surprise endorsement of President Donald Trump days before the runoff, which was called after neither he nor Cornyn earned over 50% of the votes in the March primary.

Unlike Cornyn, who has expressed opposition to Trump, Paxton represents a candidate who is unyielding in his support of the president's agenda, according to Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha, professor of political science at the University of North Texas.

"If you want a candidate who will take conservative positions without compromise, Paxton is your choice," says Eshbaugh-Soha.

Here's what to know about Paxton and the runoff set for May 26.

Who is Ken Paxton?

Ken Paxton, 63, served in the Texas House from 2003 and 2013, followed by a brief tenure in the Texas Senate before winning the election for the 51st Texas Attorney General in 2014, according to the attorney general's webpage. He has been reelected twice and spearheaded multiple initiatives on topics such as suing Obamacare, arguing its unconstitutional, stopping the EPA's “Waters of the United States” rule and supporting immigration crackdowns.

And now he's looking for Cornyn's job on Capitol Hill.

"It is interesting that he served in the same office as Cornyn did before Cornyn ran successfully for the U.S. Senate seat," says Blake Farrar, associate professor of political science at Texas State University. "Now Paxton is trying to replace his predecessor in the attorney general's office in the U.S. Senate."

Paxton is widely seen as Democrats' preferred opponent. He was impeached in 2023 on bribery charges by the Texas House and was more recently accused of infidelity by his wife. Trump, however, ran the risk of upsetting his core base of supporters if he backed Cornyn, and Paxton is widely seen as the candidate aligned with the president's MAGA base.

"He’s a favorite of conservatives, but his career is plagued with ethical, moral, and personal questions ... making him a greater risk in the general election," Eshbaugh-Soha says. 

Runoff signals a GOP turning point

Tuesday's Republican-on-Republican battle is yet another instance of GOP infighting as Trump looks to maintain control as head of the party. The president has shown he is willing to replace detractors in the party: Last week in Louisiana, incumbent Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy lost after Trump urged his supporters to vote him out. And Rep. Thomas Massie lost his GOP primary in Kentucky to a Trump-backed candidate following his opposition to the White House.

"We are seeing nationwide that a Trump endorsement is key," Eshbaugh-Soha says.

Not to mention Cornyn has served in the U.S. Senate since 2002, and it is very difficult to outlast a sitting U.S. Senator, Farrar says.

"If Paxton can pull off the win it will be a huge signal that the 'Trump Wing' is now in full control of the Republican Party while the Older 'Bush-era establishment' crowd will be watching from the sidelines," he says.

Another point of interest will be which candidate appeals to Texas Republicans who supported Wesley Hunt, a Republican who landed behind Paxton and Cornyn in the March primary with 13.5% of the votes, he says. These voters must consider that whoever gets the nomination will face Democrat James Talarico, a centrist Presbyterian state lawmaker with a rising national profile.

"Would they be more willing to support a candidate with stronger conservative credentials or would they vote strategically, thinking that Cornyn has less personal and political baggage and, thus, more likely to beat Talarico in November?" he says.

Contributing: Joey Garrison