The controversial, Trump-endorsed Texas attorney general is the Republican nominee for a hotly contested Senate seat
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NEED TO KNOW
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton created a tip line for voter fraud ahead of this year’s primaries, where he is vying for a Senate seat
- Specifically, the AG’s office warned, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside”
- However, divorce documents filed by Paxton’s estranged wife claim that he hasn’t lived at his registered address for two years
Like many GOP candidates, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has campaigned hard on the issue of voter fraud. However, a new report about his divorce documents suggests he may have voted the past two years illegally.
Ahead of this year’s primaries, where Paxton himself was vying for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat previously held by outgoing Sen. John Cornyn, the AG’s office even set up a tip line for Texans to report individuals or groups they suspected of voter fraud.
“Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of a thriving republic, and with the authority granted to my office by the Legislature, we will stop at nothing to uncover and stop any illegal voting activity,” Paxton said in a February news release announcing the tip line.
Specifically, the AG’s office warned, “You must register to vote using the address where you reside.”
“It is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records or to establish a residence for the purpose of influencing the outcome of an election,” the release read.
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However, when his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce from her husband on “Biblical grounds” in 2025, she said in her filing that he had moved out of their Collin County home a year earlier. Now, reporting by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune has found that Paxton had used that address to vote in six elections over the past two years, including the May runoff in which he won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate over the incumbent, Cornyn.
The news organizations were not able to confirm where Paxton has been living for the past two years, although they did link him to a home in Denton County. Interior photographs from a real estate listing of that home appear to match the background seen in a podcast appearance Paxton did in June 2026. That same month, a reporter found mail addressed to “Warren Paxton,” the AG’s given name, in the mailbox.
Paxton’s campaign did not respond to questions sent by ProPublica and the Texas Tribune. Instead, campaign spokesperson Madison Cercy issued a statement saying that the attorney general has been “a national leader on election integrity, with a long record of defending Texas elections,” and “attempting to insinuate otherwise and tear him down with a baseless, lie-filled tabloid story is not real reporting.”
Voter residency claims are notoriously hard to prove. As the Tribune’s Zach Despart points out, “There is no single way to determine where someone lives, and judges must consider multiple factors, such as where a voter sleeps or stores personal belongings.”
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However, given that Paxton is in the midst of a contentious divorce, it seems unlikely that he would intend to return to the Collin County home where his estranged wife still resides.
“Certainly, the chief law enforcement officer of the state of Texas, someone who has made claims about election integrity and made it a priority of his office, should be charged with knowing the laws of residencies of the state of Texas with regard to voting,” David Becker, the director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, told the Tribune.
Prior to his primary win, Paxton’s personal and professional history caused his fellow Republicans to voice their concern that his candidacy could make the seat more vulnerable in the general election, despite the fact that a Democrat has not won a U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1988.
In addition to being accused of adultery by his estranged wife, Paxton, a staunch MAGA ally, has faced felony securities fraud charges, an FBI investigation into corruption and state impeachment hearings that ended in an acquittal. He also had a case brought against him by the State Bar of Texas for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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However, he ultimately received a coveted endorsement from President Donald Trump, and won the nomination to face Democrat James Talarico in the general this fall.
“Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate. He will tirelessly fight to continue the Great Growth of our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to WIN. Our Country needs Fighters, and also Loyalty to the Cause of Greatness.”
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