Timing is everything, we are told. And the timing of a divorce announcement, coming during an election, is pure death. It violates every single aspect of not only the GOP rulebook for elections but the way elections work, period. I don’t know if anybody has actually codified the “shall nots” of running a campaign, but if they have, I guarantee Thou Shalt Not Be Sued For Divorce When Running For Office is dead certain to be number one. Or maybe it will be in a tie with Thou Shalt Not Be Caught Diddling Thine Staffer. (Thou Shalt Not Comfort Thy Staff With Thy Rod was popular during the Clinton years.)
Same premise. In all events, Angela Paxton is divorcing Ken, right while he’s planning to overcome John Cornyn in a primary challenge. Cornyn has to be howling and rolling on his office floor right now. He has to be on these facts.
“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation. But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage,” she wrote. “I move forward with complete confidence that God is always working everything together for the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.”
Although she did not clarify what those “recent discoveries” were, some observers had theories.
“Ken Paxton’s wife said she has filed for divorce on biblical grounds,” wrote Washington Post White House reporter Natalie Allison. “The Bible cites two valid reasons: Adultery, or an unbelieving spouse leaving the marriage. (Her statement seems to indicate the former.)”
Allegations of adultery against Ken Paxton have been widely known for years, and details of this were discussed at the attorney general’s impeachment trial in 2023. He was ultimately acquitted in a complicated public corruption case alleging he abused the powers of his office to help a real estate developer in Austin. Angela Paxton, being his wife, was recused from voting, but still sat through the trial, including a moment when lawmakers unsuccessfully attempted to compel the testimony of the woman Ken Paxton allegedly had an affair with.
His wife stuck by him at the time and said in a statement, “I wholeheartedly affirm the Senate’s decision to acquit.”
Ken Paxton, a notorious culture warrior who led an unsuccessful effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, is currently running a primary challenge to longtime Sen. John Cornyn, which has set off months of angst for the Senate Republican caucus over fears of losing a longtime ally and the attorney general’s controversies potentially giving Democrats an opening to contest the seat. GOP factions favoring Cornyn have aggressively been lobbying President Donald Trump to intervene on his behalf.
The arithmetic of this race has just changed. First of all, the chance of Paxton unseating Cornyn was not very high to begin with. Now, watch pollsters place it in the basement.
And that’s a shame for Democrats because if Paxton had managed to unseat Cornyn in a primary, that seat would be possible to take. But there probably won’t be a lot of Democratic angst over this recent development because you can’t lose something that you never had. Paxton, as a candidate for senator, would have been a prime target, but the chances of him getting there were slim to none. Now, however, they are simply laughable.
I wonder if John Cornyn will send Angela Paxton some champagne.
Took best part of 2 years to find the right Bible verses, or right moment to do best damage?
Payback is a motherf**ker. She knew damn well for years about her hubby and for political reasons said all the right bullsh*t and “stood by her man” during the impeachment. However it looks like she knew even back then he was toying with the idea of moving up to higher office. So she waited. For just the right moment for payback for putting her through that humiliation. Some say revenge is a dish best served cold, and it can get cold as hell during a political primary! Or, to be more graphic Angela Paxton has been holding her husband’s balls in the grip of a big set of pliers and decided now is the time to pop them like grapes! Along with his political future. To paraphrase the title of an old Billy Joel song: “Say Goodbey To Politics”
I think you’ve hit on the real takeaway which is that we can save ourselves some mental energy hoping for a change to happen in Tex-ASS. Democrats winning a statewide election there is our version of Lucy and Charlie Brown and the football. Not that I hope we don’t field a quality candidate and that they raise the resources to make the GOP work to hold on to the seat. There are, and for some time have been ever so tiny cracks in the dam in that state. Just not big enough for an actual rupture to take place. So we need to keep the pressure on BUT not go hog wild pouring in our own resources in a year where despite the number of Senate seats we need to retake control could be better used elsewhere.
She’s probably divorcing him while there’s still a chance. I’m actually surprised that Texas GOPers hadn’t already pressed a bill banning divorce entirely, thereby stripping women of even more rights. Sure the Bible does offer some “acceptable” reasons for divorce but, bear in mind, the Bible is full of examples of men having multiple wives (Jacob is a prime example; after working for 7 years to marry Rachel, he gets tricked into marrying her sister Leah and then works another 7 years so he can finally marry Rachel as well) and, while adultery is one of the big no-nos, most of the discussion was on the *wife* being caught committing adultery (even if she was being or had been raped, she was still “committing adultery” under the Law) rather than the husband.