Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s win in a Republican runoff over Sen. John Cornyn sets up a general-election test—made tougher by a divorce trial scheduled for June 24 through June 26. Court records and filings tie the case to Angela Paxton’s “biblical grou
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s path to the November general election just got harder, and the calendar is one reason why.
Paxton won the Republican primary runoff on Tuesday evening against Sen. John Cornyn, but his prospects are expected to face new friction as a divorce trial with his soon-to-be ex-wife, Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton, is scheduled to begin June 24 through June 26 in Collin County court records.
The timing matters. The trial would start a little over four months before the general election, just as Texas Republicans are pivoting from a vicious runoff battle to the high-stakes work of selling voters on Paxton as the standard-bearer.
In the runoff itself. the fight between Cornyn and Paxton was unusually brutal for a contest featuring a long-incumbent senator widely seen as stronger going into the general election because of Paxton’s streak of scandals. lawsuits. and controversies. Paxton leaned hard into a combative. far-right pitch that drew support from the MAGA wing of the GOP. and he also benefited from President Donald Trump’s late endorsement.
Democrats, by contrast, avoided that kind of chaos in their primary. State Rep. James Talarico surpassed Rep. Jasmine Crockett by a comfortable margin and did not need a runoff. Crockett conceded the next morning and tweeted a call for her supporters to “remain united” and “rally around our nominees.”.
After that, Crockett used social media to take swings at Trump and other Republicans, including bashing the president’s endorsement of Paxton.
As the race shifted from primary combat to general-election maneuvering. major election forecasters moved the Texas Senate contest in Democrats’ direction after Paxton’s runoff win. The Cook Political Report and the “Crystal Ball” ratings at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics updated their assessment based on the idea that Paxton brings vulnerabilities Democrats can press.
The “Crystal Ball” rating change was blunt: Texas Senate moved from Likely Republican to Leans Republican following Paxton’s primary runoff victory over John Cornyn.
Jessica Taylor of The Cook Report wrote that “Republicans are saddled with a controversial candidate who’s been a weak fundraiser. ” and she pointed to a “litany of ethical lapses for Democrats to exploit. ” including “allegations of bribery and misuse of his office” and “marital infidelity.” Taylor said the infidelity “led his wife to divorce him on ‘biblical grounds.’” She also tied competitiveness to national conditions. saying the “national environment” — with Trump’s abysmal approval ratings widely expected to weigh on Republican candidates in the midterms — could keep the seat from reverting fully to the GOP.
The NRSC. meanwhile. began purging parts of its website pages and social media content that it had posted during earlier stages of the primary attacking Paxton. Texas Democrats. for their part. have joked that Talarico can recycle the GOP primary ads used against Paxton rather than creating new attack material.
But the GOP is dealing with more than campaign ads. The divorce itself is a live risk for Paxton because it could expose damaging details that are not yet publicly known.
Last July, Angela Paxton announced she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” in a social media post. Her divorce filing listed adultery as the grounds for divorce. In that post, she wrote: “Today, after 38 years of marriage, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds. 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…”.
The Paxtons had initially tried to keep the divorce proceedings out of public view. But multiple state and national news organizations filed motions to intervene. arguing the records should be unsealed because both Paxtons are elected officials. divorce proceedings are normally publicly available in court records by default. and the alleged divorce grounds and property disposition are matters of “substantial public interest” due to their connection to “integrity in public office. ” potential “use of public resources. ” and “transparency in judicial proceedings.”.
Eventually, last December, the Paxtons agreed to unseal the records, though only after privacy redactions—including Social Security Numbers and home addresses.
Now, as the divorce moves toward trial, Angela Paxton is signaling that she may not be eager to make the process easier for her soon-to-be ex-husband. On Tuesday, the day of the primary runoff, she posted a list of her endorsements for several races, notably omitting the Senate primary.
The June trial date lands with the November general election approaching. and the political stakes around Paxton are already visible in the way the race is being re-rated after his primary victory. The closer Paxton gets to Election Day in Texas. the more his campaign isn’t just trying to outmaneuver a rival—it’s trying to keep control of the story while the divorce case prepares to move from filings and sealed arguments to courtroom testimony.
For now, Texas voters are left with a blunt choice in the background: a Senate race reclassified as potentially competitive, and a divorce trial scheduled to run June 24 through June 26, even as campaigning heads into its final stretch.
Angela Paxton. meanwhile. told voters during the runoff day that “Today is Election Day for the Texas runoff elections. and your voice matters!” She urged support for Mayes Middleton for Attorney General. Jim Wright for Railroad Commissioner. and Thomas Smith for Texas Court of Criminal Appeals – Place 3. and she included “Finding your polling…” in the post.
Ken Paxton Angela Paxton Texas Senate divorce trial Collin County John Cornyn runoff election Cook Political Report Crystal Ball University of Virginia Center for Politics NRSC MAGA
So he’s running for office while divorcing? Texas gonna Texas.
I feel like the timing is the whole point. Like they pick June 24-26 just to mess up his election stuff, right? But also, politics is politics so who knows.
Wait, is this about his religion stuff? The article says “biblical” and then Angela Paxton’s name so I’m assuming it’s some kind of church scandal? Divorce trials always get weaponized in campaigns, I’m not surprised.
June 24-26 is gonna be a disaster for his campaign meetings or whatever. Also didn’t Cornyn already lose, like how is this still a “test”? People act like the trial decides everything, but elections are decided by ads and vibes, not court dates. Unless the judge pauses it or something, then we’ll all pretend we knew what would happen.