Ken Paxton Lucks Out as Messy Divorce Trial Gets Cancelled Before It Can Muddy Senate Campaign

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) seems to have dodged another metaphorical bullet as the messy divorce trial looming over his Senate campaign has now been cancelled, according to local media reports.

Paxton sailed to a runoff victory over the incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) after a viciously brutal primary battle last month. Cornyn was widely viewed as a stronger candidate in the general election due to Paxton’s series of scandals, lawsuits, and controversies, but the attorney general drew support from the MAGA wing of the GOP for his combative, far-right stances, and scored President Donald Trump’s endorsement late in the runoff.

Among Paxton’s vulnerabilities is his pending divorce from his wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton (R-TX). The soon-to-be ex-Mrs. Paxton announced she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” in a social media post last July, and her divorce filing listed adultery as the grounds for divorce.

The Paxtons had originally fought to keep the records from the divorce proceedings private, but several state and national news organizations filed motions to intervene, arguing the records should be unsealed because both Paxtons were elected officials, divorce proceedings were normally publicly available in court records by default, and “[t]he grounds alleged for divorce and the disposition of property are of substantial public interest because they bear on integrity in public office, potential use of public resources, and transparency in judicial proceedings.”

Eventually, last December, the Paxtons agreed to allow the records to be unsealed, other than privacy redactions like Social Security Numbers and home addresses.

The Paxtons’ divorce trial was scheduled to take place June 24 through 26, at the Collin County Courthouse, and would have been open to the public and media — leading many to speculate more damaging information could be revealed about the candidate.

However, on Tuesday, Bloomberg Law’s Texas court reporter Ryan Autullo reported that the trial had been cancelled.

Ken Paxton’s divorce attorneys provided a statement to several reporters, including CNN politics reporter Patrick Svitek.

The statement read:

The parties have jointly agreed that a trial setting is no longer necessary and the Court has removed the case from the trial docket.

The parties have made substantial progress toward an amicable resolution of all issues and remain engaged in productive discussions. We are optimistic that a final agreement will be reached in the near future. Out of respect for the family and the ongoing process, no further comment will be made at this time.

Laura Roach and Jared Julian
Attorneys for Ken Paxton

Lauren McGaughy, Texas politics correspondent for The New York Times, noted that the court docket for the Paxtons’ divorce case reflected that the trial had been cancelled, but pointed out that the cancellation of the trial did not necessarily mean that the Paxtons had agreed to a final divorce settlement. If negotiations fall apart, a new trial date could be scheduled.

Angela Paxton’s legal counsel has yet to comment, McGaughy added.

—

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!