Ken Paxton’s ex-wife urges voters to support his Senate run, but avoids mentioning him by name

The ex-wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged voters to support the entire Republican ticket in the midterms in an ad released Saturday, although she neglected to name Paxton directly.

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, who filed for divorce last year citing “biblical grounds,” appeared in an ad telling Texans she would “vote Republican on November 3” but did not mention Paxton’s Senate bid by name.

However, she urged voters to “talk about the elephant in the room.”

“In a general election, it’s not so much about individual players on the team, but more about getting the whole team across the finish line,” Paxton said in the ad. “Either we hold all the Republican seats or we hand the future of Texas to the other team.”

Angela Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether she planned to vote for her ex-husband herself.

Ken Paxton’s tenure as attorney general was beset by allegations of abuse of power and corruption. Paxton was impeached by the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives in 2023, but the state Senate later acquitted him. The Senate trial, however, addressed allegations of infidelity. Paxton has denied any wrongdoing.

The advert comes as Paxton’s daughter Mattie Hayworth recently appeared in an advert for her father alongside her husband and children.

Hayworth criticized “liberal politicians” when a graphic showing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., alongside Paxton’s Democratic opponent, James Talarico, appeared on screen.

“When they come after you, my dad goes after them to lower prices and stand up for families,” Hayworth said.

Heading into Election Day, Talarico holds a slight advantage over Paxton, defying the deep red profile of Texas, where Republicans haven’t lost a statewide race since 1994 and Democrats haven’t won a U.S. Senate seat since 1988.

According to an NBC5 Dallas/Telemundo Station Group poll conducted in late September, Talarico was at 46 percent and Paxton at 43 percent, within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll recognizes 8% of potential voters still undecided in the race. NBC News currently defines the race as a toss-up.

The ad featuring Angela Paxton, funded by Texas PAC, a political action committee affiliated with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, comes as the Texas Senate race has become one of the costliest in the current cycle.

President Donald Trump, who endorsed Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican primary, urged voters to support the state attorney general. His super PAC, MAGA Inc., also invested millions in Paxton’s race.

The president visited Texas twice last month — first for the GOP midterm convention in Dallas and then again this week for a rally in Denton, part of Trump’s 17-state campaign blitz.

In another campaign appearance Friday night in Alabama, Trump reiterated the high stakes associated with the Texas race.

“Last night I went to Texas, where we won by a lot, and then I went to Oklahoma, and they said to me, ‘Why is he going to Texas?'” Trump said. “Because we have to win this race. Ken Paxton has to win.”