Get to Know Your Candidate: Ken Paxton — U.S. Senate

Ken Paxton has spent more than two decades in Texas public life — state representative, state senator, and since 2015 the state's attorney general. Now the McKinney Republican is asking voters to send that record to Washington.

Who he is

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. was born Dec. 23, 1962, in Minot, North Dakota, where his father was stationed in the Air Force, and he grew up in several states before putting down roots in Collin County. He graduated from Baylor University, where he served as student body president, earning a bachelor's degree in psychology and an M.B.A., then earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Before politics, Paxton worked as an attorney at Strasburger & Price, served as in-house counsel for the J.C. Penney Company, and ran his own McKinney law firm for 14 years. Voters first elected him to the Texas House in 2002; he represented District 70 for 10 years, then moved up to the Texas Senate in 2012.

Paxton was elected attorney general in 2014 and sworn in on Jan. 5, 2015, succeeding Greg Abbott as the state's 51st attorney general; he was re-elected in 2018 and 2022. He leads an office of more than 4,000 employees; his office points to a human-trafficking unit created as his first major initiative, a child-support division that collected more than $4.8 billion in fiscal 2020, and a $1.6 billion settlement with opioid manufacturer Mallinckrodt. His wife, Angela Paxton, serves in the Texas Senate; they have four children — Tucker, Abby, Mattie and Katie — and five grandchildren. Paxton won the Republican nomination in the May 26 runoff, defeating incumbent Sen. John Cornyn with 63.8 percent of the vote.

What he stands for

Paxton's campaign says he will work alongside President Trump, secure the southern border and support additional border-wall construction, and advance an America First foreign policy. He pledges to cut federal taxes, spending and regulation, and to support American energy production and manufacturing to bring down costs.

His signature economic plan, "Protecting the Texas Promise," would create a $50,000 tax deduction for home down payments, a $25,000 deduction for out-of-pocket medical expenses, and double the child tax credit. He also backs price transparency and accountability for pharmaceutical and food companies. "I want every Texan to be able to buy a home, raise their family, and live a healthy life," he has said.

Paxton also campaigns on protecting Second Amendment rights and protections for unborn children, and on parental rights in education. His campaign casts his attorney general record as the template: an office that filed suit after suit challenging federal policies on immigration, environmental rules and other issues.

Texas voters will decide the race on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Early voting runs Oct. 19–30.