Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, who’ll face the state attorney general in the fall, responded to the GOP primary by describing Paxton as “the most corrupt politician in America.”

Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America. 

He embodies the broken system we’re running against.

It’s time to come together: The People vs. Ken Paxton

— James Talarico (@jamestalarico.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T01:38:20.360Z

Soon after, the Democrat’s campaign unveiled its first post-primary ad, highlighting just how many devastating scandals Paxton has been embroiled in during his tenure in statewide office.

Link to tweet

.....To help drive the point home, consider this list published last summer:

Angela Paxton’s divorce petition accuses Paxton of adultery and says the couple stopped living together in June 2024, according to new reports.

Paxton’s former chief of staff testified that he confessed to her and other staff members he was having an affair with his mistress, Laura Olson.

Impeachment articles in the Texas legislature alleged Ken Paxton used the alias “Dave P” for a fake Uber account that he used to secretly see his mistress.

Paxton was also accused of using secret emails and burner phones to try and cover his tracks.
Paxton allegedly used his pal Nate Paul, who was recently convicted of bank fraud, to help hide his affair and provide his mistress with employment in Austin so that Paxton could be closer to her.

Twenty articles of impeachment were filed against Paxton in the Texas legislature over alleged bribery, abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

Paxton was indicted on security fraud charges that were later dropped after he paid $300,000 in restitution and completed community service.

Paxton refused to disclose multiple out-of-state properties in his 2023 financial disclosure, including a $1.6 million luxury hide-away.

Who put this list together? The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which quietly removed the list from its website after Paxton defeated Cornyn. (The list above is reprinted verbatim from the NRSC’s since-deleted post.)

Kevin Kruse, a historian at Princeton University, described Paxton as “basically a walking Thomas Nast illustration of corruption,” which hardly seemed hyperbolic. We are, after all, talking about a man whose own senior staffers reported him to the FBI, alleging he illegally used his position to help a prominent donor.