Ken Paxton
Texas attorney general since 2015; impeached 2023 and acquitted, securities-fraud case ended on $271K restitution deal; 2026 GOP Senate nominee
Ken Paxton (born 1962, Republican) has been Attorney General of Texas since 5 January 2015, after serving in the Texas House (2003-2013) and Texas Senate (2013-2015); the Attorney General's office lists him as elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 and 2022. The Texas House impeached him on 20 articles on 27 May 2023, alleging among other things abuse of office to benefit investor Nate Paul, and he was suspended; the Texas Senate acquitted him on all 16 articles it voted on on 16 September 2023 and dismissed the remaining four. A 2015 state securities-fraud indictment ended with a March 2024 pretrial agreement, under which he agreed to pay about $271,000 in restitution and complete 100 hours of community service, and the charges were dismissed in 2025. On 4 April 2025 a Travis County judge entered a judgment of about $6.6 million for four former deputies who said they were fired after reporting him to the FBI. A federal judge preliminarily blocked his office's lawsuit against ActBlue in June 2026, and he won the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate on 26 May 2026, defeating Sen. John Cornyn.
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Roles
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- About the OfficeDocument
Ken Paxton is the 51st Attorney General of Texas. He was elected on November 4, 2014, and sworn into office on January 5, 2015. He was re-elected to a second term in 2018 and a third term in 2022.
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- Texas Scorecard — Texas Scorecard - Federal Judge Blocks AG Paxton's ActBlue Lawsuit (June 19, 2026)
Judge Stearns issued a preliminary injunction on June 11, 2026
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- CBS Austin (AP) — Texas AG Ken Paxton wins GOP runoff for US Senate, ousting longtime Sen. John Cornyn
Paxton's victory in Tuesday’s runoff makes Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection.
Figures
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- The Texas Tribune — The Texas Tribune - Attorney General Ken Paxton's former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case (Apr 4, 2025)
A Travis County district court judge on Friday awarded $6.6 million to four former senior aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton who said they were improperly fired after reporting Paxton to the FBI.
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- The Texas Tribune — The Texas Tribune - Felony charges against Ken Paxton to be dropped (Mar 26, 2024)
The amount of restitution totals about $271,000, prosecutor Brian Wice said.
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- The Texas Tribune — The Texas Tribune - Felony charges against Ken Paxton to be dropped (Mar 26, 2024)
100 hours community service, about $271,000 restitution, 15 hours legal ethics
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- Texas Scorecard — Texas Scorecard - A Decade Later, State Charges Against Ken Paxton Officially Dismissed (June 18, 2025)
Charges dismissed June 18, 2025 by Judge Andrea Beall after Paxton completed the agreement's terms
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- The Texas Tribune — The Texas Tribune - Attorney General Ken Paxton's former aides win $6.6 million in whistleblower case (Apr 4, 2025)
The House’s ethics committee began investigating Paxton, and in May that year, the chamber impeached him on corruption and bribery charges
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- The Texas Tribune — The Texas Tribune - Paxton trial updates: Attorney general acquitted on 16 impeachment counts (Sept 16, 2023)
Texas senators have acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton on 16 articles of impeachment. Paxton was accused of misusing the powers of the attorney general’s office to help his friend and donor Nate Paul, an Austin real estate investor who was under federal investigation.