Attorney-general of Texas for a decade. Paxton tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election and, like Donald Trump, weathered impeachment: his own party in the Texas House impeached him for corruption, but the Senate did not convict. He was accused of securities fraud and settled by paying $300,000. His wife filed for divorce on "biblical grounds". As attorney-general he has sued Google and Meta for "spying on Texans", Pfizer for "conspiring to censor" information about its vaccines, and swing states for allegedly distributing fake ballots. Mr Paxton boasts about suing Joe Biden 107 times.
Paxton is running for the US Senate against the incumbent John Cornyn ahead of the 2026 midterms. He is well ahead among Republican primary voters. Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.
McEwan's Rule of Relative Importance: When traveling with a herd of elephants, don't be the first to lie down and rest.