Embattled Texas AG Shows Value of Keeping GOP Loyalists in Fold

Madlin Mekelburg
·5-min read

(Bloomberg) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton looked to be state Republicans’ weakest link ahead of this year’s midterm elections, dogged by criminal charges, an FBI investigation into his office and a lawsuit from the State Bar of Texas over his bid to overturn the 2020 presidential ballot.

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Turns out, none of that matters to most voters.

Instead, polls show Paxton cruising to a fairly easy victory over Democrat Rochelle Garza in next week’s elections, rewarded for his staunchly conservative approach to serving as the state’s top lawyer as well as his fierce loyalty to former President Donald Trump.

GOP stalwarts appreciate his aggressive approach, everything from declaring some medical treatments for transgender kids to be child abuse to his pledges to ensure “election integrity” and the lawsuits against big tech companies over alleged censorship of conservative voices. Supporters accept Paxton’s assurances that the accusations are politically motivated and are happy to dismiss them.

“It just isn’t that much of an issue,” said Joshua Blank, the research director at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas. “Ken Paxton has made it his business to satisfy the desires, through the office of the attorney general, of committed Republican voters. They’re satisfied with the job he has done.”

His success allays concerns voiced earlier this year by Republicans including Senator John Cornyn and Bush family scion George P. Bush, who lost a primary challenge, that his baggage would be a thorn in the side of an otherwise hearty Texas GOP. His party is flush with cash and riding a wave of national momentum spurred by the soaring cost of living and broad dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden.

Paxton’s close ties with Trump were evident during the former president’s rally in South Texas on Oct. 22. Paxton took a turn at the lectern, boasting about his lawsuits against the Biden administration.

“We’ve sued him 11 times over immigration and over 30 times on other issues,” Paxton told the crowd. “This president has completely ignored the Constitution. He’s making up his own rules.”

When it was Trump’s turn to speak, he offered a full-throated endorsement of Paxton -- political baggage and all.

“This Election Day you also need to get out and vote for your incredible attorney general,” Trump told a boisterous crowd. “I know he’s a little controversial, but he’s tough, OK? It’s OK. Being controversial is OK.”

Paxton is now one of the most prominent AGs in the nation -- a conservative counterpart to New York’s Letitia James, a Democrat -- rewarded for his relentless support for Trump’s election-fraud claims and frequent Fox News appearances to lambaste his “woke” enemies and push his culture-war issues. He’s pledged to pursue more of the same priorities if re-elected.

The unwavering support for Paxton despite the ethical issues has echoes in other races around the country, perhaps most prominently in the Georgia Senate contest. Republican Herschel Walker has had to explain a history of domestic abuse and deny accusations that he paid for girlfriends’ abortions, despite his stated opposition to the procedure.

While some polls have shown the attorney general contest as the state’s tightest race, closer than the gubernatorial match-up between incumbent Greg Abbott and Democrat Beto O’Rourke, almost all have shown him with a comfortable lead. One survey from the Texas Politics Project had Paxton 14 points ahead. The same poll found that 79% of likely Republican voters approved of Paxton’s job performance.

Losing Streak

Garza is undeterred, maintaining that she’s the best chance Democrats have of winning a statewide race in Texas -- a feat the party hasn’t pulled off in almost 30 years. She’s promised to prioritize civil-rights issues and abortion access if elected, but her campaign focuses largely on what she calls the threat to democracy posed by Paxton.

“He’s dangerous for democracy, and that’s what’s on the ballot,” Garza, a 37-year-old attorney from Brownsville, said in an interview.

Within months of taking office, Paxton was charged with two counts of securities fraud and one count of failing to register as a securities adviser. A series of protracted legal squabbles and appeals has delayed the case, and Paxton has yet to go to trial.

In 2020, top aides in Paxton’s office accused him of criminal violations, claiming that he accepted bribes and leveraged his office to help one of his political donors. Eight whistle-blowers reported his behavior to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Soon after, they all either resigned or were fired from the attorney general’s office. Four have since sued Paxton, accusing him of retaliation.

Paxton has denied wrongdoing in all cases.

Amid the allegations, Paxton has been steadfast in continuing to pursue flashy legal cases that put him and Texas in the national limelight.

He declared that some gender-affirming care for transgender children constitutes child abuse under state law. He’s sued Alphabet Inc. on antitrust grounds and both Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc. for capturing biometric data of millions of Texans. He has backed a state effort targeting the ESG movement, which takes into account a company’s environmental, social and governance policies.

Plus, Paxton sought to back Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election by filing a lawsuit challenging the outcomes of the presidential races in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Supreme Court rejected the case, but the effort drew scrutiny from the State Bar of Texas, which sued Paxton in May alleging professional misconduct over his handling of the lawsuit. The case is pending in state district court.

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