There are two words that best describe Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate bid: arrogant and undisciplined.
A.G. Paxton knocked off Texas’ senior U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for the GOP’s nod in the May primary run-off. And from there, he has not received much earned media time. The earned media he received, however, is not the kind any candidate would want.
Paxton was spotted with his mistress Tracy Duhon in Europe, specifically England – of all places – while Americans celebrated independence from the island across the pond. In one video, he hastily walked away from Duhon as she stood in the middle of a sidewalk. Such a reaction makes one wonder about the expectations the Attorney General had when he decided to vacation in Europe during the Fourth of July weekend with a woman who was not his wife.
Then, there is the report he may have committed voter fraud. The exposé from The Texas Tribune and ProPublica suggests A.G. Paxton appeared to have “used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years, including in May’s runoff that made him the Republican nominee for U.S. senator.” When doing his first press conference for the general election, Paxton stood with a slew of county sheriffs from around the state to discuss the differences between himself and his Democratic opponent James Talarico. Paxton listed his grievances about his opponent and differences between them yet refused to answer a question about potentially committing voter fraud. Not only did he refuse to answer, but he also ran away from the question.
Such an act is eyebrow raising because it brings more questions than answers. How can one be an authority and attempt to hold the higher ground on law enforcement if he – himself – committed crimes? What is more confusing is he said he wanted to keep the questions “to law enforcement.” That is fine, but is enforcing Texas’ election laws not part of law enforcement? If it is not, then what is?
These actions continue to illustrate the point that A.G. Paxton is an undisciplined, arrogant political lightweight. The entirety of his elected success relied upon other top-of-the-ticket candidates like Sen. John Cornyn in 2014, Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, and President Joe Biden’s unpopularity in 2022. A.G. Paxton never had to get out of the coattails of another to enjoy political success.
Until now.
Watching him campaign is almost as painful as getting a root canal without numbing medicine. He is completely lost, his political attacks fall flat, and his charisma level is a negative 50. Such campaign incompetence points to how he was out-fundraised by more than three to one to his Democratic rival in the last quarter and how the big donors of Sen. Cornyn show reluctance of investing in his campaign.
Even elected Republicans in Washington and Austin know how much of a liability Paxton is to the GOP ticket. While it is said to boost Republican voter enthusiasm around the country, the reality behind Dallas hosting a midterm national convention is to aid the Paxton campaign. Why host it in Dallas and not Portland, Maine? Why not host it in Detroit, Michigan; Cincinnati, Ohio; or Des Moines, Iowa? Those other states have competitive Senate elections, but Texas is the largest Republican state. And if Republicans lose Texas, the dominoes begin to fall. Any other explanation than that is malarkey.
It must also be noted that campaign surrogates of the attorney general are not praising him. They are constantly attacking State Rep. Talarico. Those surrogates are essentially arguing “yeah, Paxton was impeached by a majority of Republicans in 2023; yeah, he continues to commit adultery; yeah, he took a plea deal with a pedophile; yeah, he has no ideas; yeah, he’s problematic; etc., but at least he didn’t say something odd five years ago like James Talarico.” That is some impressive mental gymnastics to rationalize supporting someone.
Because Paxton has never lost an election, won the Republican nomination, and Democrats have not won a Senate seat in almost 40 years, the attorney general feels emboldened to take vacations, be complacent with small fundraising numbers, rely on President Donald Trump for any help, and assume he will win just by going through the motions.
Texas Republicans put the fate of Senate control in the hands of its worst candidate to lead its most problematic ticket in Party history. It is hubris to believe this ticket led by Ken Paxton can win just by showing up.
Drew Landry is an assistant professor of government at South Plains College. His views do not necessarily represent those of SPC.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Drew Landry on the ‘undisciplined, arrogant’ candidacy of Ken Paxton | Opinion
Reporting by By Drew Landry, special for the Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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By Drew Landry, special for the Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
