Once a century, a Texas politician comes along that boggles the imagination, not for their skill but for their inexplicable success.
Historians will undoubtedly struggle to explain how he raised millions in campaign contributions and remained a viable candidate for attorney general, even after his own lieutenants reported him to the FBI.
As Texas Monthly asked in a recent headline, “Is There Anything Ken Paxton Could Do to Turn Voters Against Him?”
With voting a month away, I have been offering performance reviews of statewide incumbents. As attorney general, Paxton is responsible for maintaining the rule of law, the foundation for economic freedom and peaceful dispute settlement.
No statewide officeholder, though, has shown greater contempt for the law since Ma and Pa Ferguson shared the governor’s mansion in 1924.
Folks in McKinney elected Paxton to the Texas House in 2003, and he won a state Senate seat in 2012. He shared a rental in Austin with a former friend and state Rep. Byron Cook. They created an investment club, agreeing to take equal risk in each security, and promised not to profit off each other, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
Cook and another club member later discovered Paxton was apparently making money by convincing them to buy stock in a McKinney-based tech company called Servergy Inc.
In 2015, the year Paxton became attorney general, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of securities fraud, a first-degree felony, and one count of failing to register with state securities regulators, a third-degree felony.
The indictment alleges Paxton sold $840,000 worth of Servergy shares to Cook and another investor and in return, received 100,000 Servergy shares as a commission. Paxton insists the extra shares were a gift from the CEO.
A reasonable person might expect Paxton to step down or demand a speedy trial. But instead, he has used every opportunity to delay his day in court. His friends in Collin County tried to cut off funding for the special prosecutor.
Paxton’s attorneys have appealed every decision that went against him, and seven years later, they are still fighting over where the trial will take place.
Then in October 2020, a call came from inside Paxton’s proverbial house. His right-hand man and top prosecutors notified human resources that their boss was allegedly engaged in improper influence, abuse of office, bribery and other crimes.
The FBI got involved, and the case presumably remains open.
Paxton sought relief by joining former President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election and even spoke at the Jan. 6 rally that led to the assault on the Capitol Building. In 2021, Paxton cleared himself of wrongdoing by releasing an anonymously-written report.
Several Republicans smelled blood in the water and jumped into the GOP primary. But Paxton vanquished them all, including George P. Bush, the purported future of the Bush dynasty and the Texas GOP.
How did a politician with little charisma and a blemished record become so beloved by Republican voters? Dedication to the cause.
Paxton has always ranked among Texas’s most strident anti-abortion political leaders. His campaigning earned him the unwavering support of major anti-abortion organizations. He also attended every Republican women’s club luncheon he could muster, and has promised to put Christianity back into public schools while keeping Islam out.
As attorney general, he successfully defended Texas’s abortion bans. And when Trump called for help in derailing our democracy, Paxton filed a suit to overturn the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
Trump repaid Paxton with endorsements and a fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club, but not a pardon from that pesky FBI investigation. To win more brownie points, Paxton intervened last week in the federal Mar-a-Lago investigation in Trump’s defense.
Paxton has reliably sided with GOP priorities no matter what the law or precedent might say. He asked a judge to throw out the Affordable Car Act and defended Trump’s clearly illegal policies.
Most of the time Paxton sides with big business, unless they are political opponents. He fought to keep 5 million Texans from getting overtime pay. He defended Exxon Mobil against a climate investigation, but he’s suing Big Tech firms for moderating their platforms.
Paxton’s defenders dismiss the allegations against him as politically motivated. But remember, his accusers were his friends and supporters; no Democrats were involved.
I don’t know what juju he’s using to stay in office, but it’s strong stuff.
Chris Tomlinson, named 2021 columnist of the year by the Texas Managing Editors, writes commentary about money, politics and life in Texas. Sign up for his “Tomlinson’s Take” newsletter at HoustonChronicle.com/TomlinsonNewsletter.
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