Texas Senate Race: Paxton’s Personal Scandals Shake Up Primary Battle
The 2026 Republican Senate primary in Texas has erupted into one of the most contentious and scandal-plagued races in the state’s recent political history, as Attorney General Ken Paxton faces mounting personal crises while challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn.
“It’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas, and also support Donald Trump in the areas that he’s focused on in a very significant way. And that’s what I plan on doing.” — Texas AG Ken Paxton
“Mr. Paxton has a checkered background. He’s a con man and a fraud.” — Texas Sen. John Cornyn
Paxton’s Mounting Personal Troubles
Paxton’s Senate ambitions took a devastating blow in July when his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, filed for divorce citing adultery on “biblical grounds.”
In her divorce filing, obtained by CNN, Angela Paxton alleged that the attorney general had committed adultery and said they stopped living together around June 1, 2024.
The divorce proceedings have been sealed at her request, but the scandal continues to reverberate through the Senate race. Recent reporting suggests Paxton has been traveling extensively to meet with a woman named Tracy Duhon, adding fuel to the ongoing speculation about his extramarital activities.
This latest scandal builds upon Paxton’s already substantial legal baggage. During his 2023 impeachment proceedings, investigations revealed that Paxton abused his office by giving aid to a political donor in exchange for renovations to his Austin-area home and gave a job to a woman with whom he was having an affair.
The Texas AG, during his first term, was also accused of defrauding investors by encouraging them to fund a tech startup that he was, unbeknownst to them, being paid to promote. The criminal charges were dropped in June of this year after he completed a pre-trial diversion program. In 2016, the SEC filed a civil lawsuit against Paxton over the same allegations. However, a federal judge dismissed the suit with prejudice in 2017, ruling that Paxton had no legal duty to disclose his compensation arrangement to the specific investors cited in the complaint.
Cornyn’s Strategic Response
Senator John Cornyn has seized on Paxton’s vulnerabilities, though he has largely allowed the scandals to speak for themselves rather than launching overt personal attacks. Cornyn, in turn, has highlighted Paxton’s legal troubles, perceived character flaws and corruption, and his 2023 impeachment.
Sen. Cornyn’s open records request for AG Paxton’s calendar and correspondence marks a significant escalation in the Texas Senate race, targeting potential misuse of taxpayer funds for personal affairs.
Cornyn has also faced attacks from Paxton over policy positions, particularly Paxton has attacked Cornyn over his support for a bipartisan gun safety bill in the wake of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, comments casting doubt on Trump’s electability ahead of the 2024 presidential contest…and more.
The veteran senator appears to be betting that Texas Republican primary voters will ultimately choose stability and electability over the chaos surrounding Paxton, despite Paxton’s strong conservative credentials and Trump-aligned positioning.
The Broader Republican Field
The attorney general positions himself as a disruptor against the Republican establishment embodied in the longtime Senate fixture. Paxton’s challenge represents a classic establishment versus insurgent battle within the GOP, with significant implications for the party’s direction in Texas.
While the primary battle has largely focused on these two major figures, the race’s dynamics could shift as other candidates potentially enter or as current participants adjust their strategies based on Paxton’s ongoing personal troubles.
Groups affiliated with Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, have poured more than $3 million into advertising across the state as the second-term congressman explores a potential dark-horse Senate bid.
Democratic Opportunities
On the Democratic side, Texas Democrat Colin Allred enters the U.S. Senate race to challenge the GOP’s Cornyn or Paxton, bringing significant fundraising experience from his previous campaigns. Allred’s entry signals that Democrats see potential opportunity in a race that could be weakened by Republican infighting and scandal.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat and former schoolteacher with a rising national profile joined the race earlier this month.
Talarico talks about the role of “love thy neighbor” religion in his politics, and the fight he wants to help bring to bear against Donald Trump’s Republicans.
Campaign Impact and Electoral Implications
Ken Paxton’s divorce scandal represents perhaps the most serious threat yet to Paxton’s political resilience. While he has survived criminal indictments, impeachment proceedings, and corruption allegations, personal scandals involving marriage and family values could prove more damaging with conservative Republican primary voters.
The sealed nature of the divorce proceedings may limit immediate political damage, but the ongoing speculation and media attention continue to overshadow Paxton’s policy messaging and campaign activities.
Looking Ahead
As the 2026 primary approaches, the race appears increasingly to be a referendum on whether Texas Republican voters are willing to overlook personal scandals in favor of ideological alignment. Paxton’s ability to weather this latest crisis will test the limits of conservative voter loyalty and could reshape the broader landscape of Texas Republican politics.
The ultimate winner will face a general election where these primary battle scars could provide significant ammunition for Democratic opponents in an increasingly competitive Texas political environment.
PODCAST
A look at the arc of President Donald Trump’s standing in Texas and how his ratings intersect persistent economic concerns in the state. Plus, approaches to (very) early polling in the 2026 U.S. Senate race.
A teen is in the hospital with critical injuries after an auto-pedestrian crash in north Austin on Saturday.
APD says that a female teenager had been struck by a gray Ford Expedition and was taken to Dell Children’s Medical Center with critical injuries. It is unclear if any arrests were made.
ATCEMS was busy again late Saturday with two more incidents. In the first one, it again involved a pedestrian:
Later, a driver was ejected from their vehicle and seriously injured in a wreck on MoPac.
A baby was found abandoned in a north Austin dumpster in the 8600 block of North Lamar Boulevard Saturday, according to the Austin Police Department.
Two arrest warrants were issued this week for the suspects involved in an incident at Barton Springs that left one person with a fractured jaw and a punctured ear canal.
Nearly 200 people gathered at the Texas Capitol on Saturday for the first ever Constitution Day rally.
Austin City Council will meet Thursday.
Meeting Details:
- Thursday, September 25, 2025, 10:00 AM
- Austin City Hall, with some members participating via videoconference
Main Agenda Sections:
9:00 AM – Proclamations
- Technology Opportunities Program/Digital Inclusion Week
- Hispanic Heritage Month
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Kathy Mitchell Day
- Suicide Prevention Month
10:00 AM – Consent Agenda Items (Items 1-59) Major categories include:
- Animal Services agreements with Travis County
- Austin Energy contracts and resolutions
- Austin Water projects and contracts
- Economic Development items
- Emergency Medical Services agreements
- Financial Services contracts and real estate
- Police Department grant applications
- Public Health services
- Transportation projects
- Various fee waivers for community events
10:30 AM – Non-Consent Items
- Austin Housing Finance Corporation meeting
Public Hearings (Items 61-63)
- H-E-B alcohol waiver request
- Estancia Hill Country Public Improvement District
- Austin Convention Center site plan
12:00 PM – Public Communication Citizens speaking on topics including school closures, surveillance technology, and fire department staffing.
2:00 PM – Zoning Cases (Items 65-83) Multiple rezoning requests and neighborhood plan amendments across various districts.
The agenda contains 84 total items covering routine city business, major contracts, zoning changes, and public input opportunities.
Today is Austin Museum Day. That means free admission and special events for area museums and historic sites.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is looking for new retail and food businesses to lease space as part of its multibillion-dollar expansion.
The airport is seeking bids from businesses that are “experienced, creative, highly motivated, and responsible.” (Austin Business Journal)
WEATHER
SATURDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
Gabrielle could strengthen into a major hurricane near Bermuda early this week as meteorologists monitor other tropical systems with potential to develop across the Atlantic and Caribbean.
Labor organizer Jeremy Hendricks has entered the race for the Texas House district in North Austin being vacated by Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful James Talarico, entering a crowded March Democratic primary with backing from top Austin Democrats. (Austin American-Statesman)
Meanwhile, after more than 20 years in office, Texas Congressman Michael McCaul says it’s time to move on.
Texas has executed four people so far this year – a low number, considering the state often executed that many per month during the 1990s and 2000s. No executions were scheduled at all this summer and only two are set for the remainder of 2025.
The first is for Blaine Milam on Thursday. (Austin Chronicle)
As part of Mayor John Whitmire’s push to end street homelessness in Houston, the city’s housing department plans to open a ‘superhb’, a site where the homeless can access services and pathways to permanent housing. (Houston Public Media)
David Monroe, the founder of the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology, was identified as the man killed at the Boeing Center at Tech Port on Friday after a jet engine fell on him. San Antonio police, firefighters, and other first responders were dispatched to the Boeing Center‘s loading dock on Friday afternoon. (Texas Public Radio)
Supporters of Charlie Kirk marched Saturday and gathered at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
After being expelled from Texas State University for reenacting the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, former student Devion Canty Jr. has addressed his actions. On a GoFundMe page created to help with his education costs, Canty clarified the circumstances surrounding the reenactment, which had gone viral and drawn widespread online criticism. (Yahoo! News)
Veteran Texas political reporters Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News and John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman join host Jeremy Wallace to break down the suddenly red-hot 2026 primaries, including the clash between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton plus the budding rivalry between Colin Allred and James Talarico. They also dive into a major upheaval in the state’s congressional delegation and tell you the latest on what Democrat Jasmine Crockett and Republican Wesley Hunt are planning. Finally, Jeffers, Moritz and Wallace all explain their origin stories and have advice for campaigns, academics and legislative staffers on how to get into stories, TV appearances, podcasts and newsletters.
(Episode from September 19, 2025)
The mother of two children, who were found dead in west Bexar County on Saturday, has been arrested on charges of injury to a child.
SPORTS
Arch Manning got his groove back.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: QB Arch Manning went 18 of 21 passing for 309 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-0 rout by the Texas Longhorns against the Sam Houston Bearkats last night. (Sports Illustrated)
NEXT WEEK
The Longhorns have a bye week. They return in Week 6 and begin SEC play at Florida on October 4.
OTHER SCORES
Backup quarterback Will Hammond stepped into a stagnant Texas Tech offense in the third quarter and put together four scoring drives to lead the 17th-ranked Red Raiders to a 34-10 win over No. 16 Utah on Saturday. (Yahoo! Sports)
NFL: Week 3 finds the 1-1 Dallas Cowboys in the Windy City today to face the 0-2 Chicago Bears.
In the AFC, the 0-2 Houston Texans face division rival Jacksonville.
MLB: One week to go. This is no time to be losing games.
Both the Rangers and Astros will conclude their respective series today, in each case attempting to salvage at least one win before the final stretch.
ON THE SCHEDULE
AL WEST STANDINGS
WILD CARD RACE
MLS: Austin FC is back at home to take on Seattle Sounders FC at Q2 Stadium tonight. Kickoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CT, and the match will feature as this week’s Sunday Night Soccer match. (Austin FC)
Neal Brennan interviews Austin native son Matthew McConaughey (who has a new book, Poems & Prayers) about the things that make him feel lonely, isolated, and like something’s wrong – and how he is persevering despite these blocks.
