Ken Paxton’s estranged wife urges voters to back his Senate bid, yet avoids mentioning him by name

The estranged wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urged voters to stand behind the entire Republican midterm ticket in an ad released Saturday, though she neglected to name Paxton directly.

Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, who filed for divorce from Paxton last year citing “biblical grounds,” appeared in an ad telling Texans that she is “voting for the Republican ticket on Nov. 3,” but did not cite Paxton’s Senate bid by name.

She did, however, invite voters to “talk about the elephant in the room.”

“In a general election, it’s not as much about the individual players on the team; it’s about getting the whole team across the finish line,” Paxton said in the ad. “Either we hold every Republican seat, 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 plans to vote for her estranged husband herself.

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

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

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

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

As Election Day nears, Talarico holds a slight edge 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 in late September, Talarico was at 46% and Paxton at 43%, within the survey’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The poll acknowledges another 8% of potential voters who are still undecided in the race. NBC News currently defines the race as a toss-up.

The ad featuring Angela Paxton, which was 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 most expensive in the current cycle.

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

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

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

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