Ken Paxton

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 23, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015.

A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Texas Senate representing the eighth district and as a member of the Texas House of Representatives.

Paxton rose to power as an ally of the Tea Party movement and has been described as an ultraconservative or far-right politician.

As attorney general, Paxton has appointed prominent opponents of LGBT rights to leading positions within his department.

In June 2022, Paxton said he would defend state laws prohibiting consensual same-sex relationships if the Supreme Court precedent invalidating such laws, the Lawrence v. Texas decision, was overturned.

He has sued president Joe Biden's administration nearly 50 times.

He supports a near-total ban on abortion access.

Paxton received a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1985 and a Master of Business Administration in 1986, both from Baylor University.

At that university, he was elected president of the student government.

Paxton then worked for two years as a management consultant before returning to school in 1988.

In 1991, he received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Paxton worked at Strasburger & Price, L.L.P. from 1991 to 1995, and J.C. Penney Company, Inc. from 1995 to 2002.

In 2002, Paxton ran in the Republican primary for the Texas House in District 70.

He captured 39.45% of the vote and moved into a runoff with Bill Vitz, whom he then defeated with 64% of the vote.

He went on to face Fred Lusk (D) and Robert Worthington (L) for the newly redistricted open seat.

On November 4, 2002, Paxton won with 28,012 votes to Lusk's 7,074 votes and Worthington's 600 votes.

Paxton won re-election against Democrat Martin Woodward in 2004.

Paxton captured 76% of the vote, or 58,520 votes compared to 18,451 votes for Woodward.

Paxton won re-election in 2006, defeating Rick Koster (D) and Robert Virasin (L).

Paxton received 30,062 votes to Koster's 12,265 votes and Virasin's 1,222 votes.

Paxton won re-election by again defeating Robert Virasin (L), 73,450 to 11,751 votes.

Paxton ran unopposed for re-election in 2010.

After getting re-elected, Paxton ran for Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives against Joe Straus of District 121 in Bexar County and fellow Republican Warren Chisum of District 88 in Pampa, Texas.

Paxton was indicted in 2015 on state securities fraud charges relating to activities prior to taking office; he has pleaded not guilty.

The case was delayed over various procedural issues, but in October 2023 his trial was scheduled for April 2024.

After Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making claims of election fraud, Paxton aided Trump in his efforts to overturn the result.

He filed the unsuccessful Texas v. Pennsylvania case in the U.S. Supreme Court and spoke at the rally Trump held on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., that immediately preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In October 2020, several high-level assistants in Paxton's office accused him of "bribery, abuse of office and other crimes."

Paxton was impeached with bipartisan approval in May 2023 by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives by a vote of 121–23, leading to his suspension.

The articles of impeachment included allegations that Paxton gave preferential treatment to a political donor who bribed him, misapplied public resources and made false statements against whistleblowers, obstructed justice in the securities fraud trial against him, and made false statements regarding his financial interests.

In September 2023, the Texas Senate voted to acquit Paxton of all articles of impeachment, ending his suspension from office.

Paxton is separately being investigated by federal prosecutors for the same legal issues on coinciding federal statutes.

Paxton was born on Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, where his father was stationed while in the United States Air Force.

His parents and their three children lived in a trailer, often without air conditioning, parked outside wherever his father was temporarily stationed.

At various times, they lived in Florida, New York, North Carolina, California, and Oklahoma.

A lifelong football fan, Paxton carried a jersey autographed by Bill Bates, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys.

Bates later was named Paxton's campaign treasurer.

At the age of twelve, Paxton nearly lost an eye in a game of hide-and-seek; a misdiagnosis led to long-term problems with his vision.

As a result, his good eye is green; his damaged one, brown and droopy.

He further injured his eye while in college.