Ken Paxton’s Ex-Wife Says She’s Voting for Ken Paxton — Without Mentioning Ken Paxton

Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton is urging Texans to vote Republican down the ballot — including for the party’s Senate nominee, who happens to be her estranged ex-husband.

“People have asked my thoughts about this election, and turns out, I have some,” she said in a 30-second spot released Saturday. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”

The “elephant” is Ken Paxton, who she does not mention by name during the advertisement. The state attorney general has received criticism and snubs from some of the state’s Republican powerbrokers in the weeks leading up to the midterms, including incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, who lost to Paxton in a tight runoff in May.

Angela Paxton, though, is staying on his side.

The state senator filed for divorce on “biblical grounds” soon after Ken Paxton launched his Senate campaign last year. The state attorney general has faced multiple scandals throughout his tenure, including his 2023 impeachment case, during which his former chief of staff testified about their alleged extramarital affair. While Angela Paxton sat through the days of testimony as a state senator, she was not allowed to cast a vote against her then-husband, though the chamber eventually acquitted him of all charges.

Angela Paxton has been privately telling donors to vote for her ex-husband in recent weeks, repeatedly referring to him as “the elephant in the room.”

She also employs another set of metaphors in the new ad, which was paid for by an affiliate arm of Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s super PAC.

“It’s not as much about the individual players on the team — it’s about getting the whole team across the finish line. Either we hold every Republican seat or we hand the future of Texas to the other team,” Paxton says. “Let’s hold the line — together.”

Thune’s Senate Leadership Fund and its affiliated branches have disclosed $130 million in Texas spending since early September, a number that will likely balloon as Nov. 3 draws closer. Much of the money has gone toward broadcast reservations and other digital advertising.