Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Finalizes Divorce, Ending 38-Year Marriage

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has finalized his divorce from his wife, Angela, one of his lawyers said on Thursday. The ruling ends the couple's 38-year marriage; Paxton is the state's outgoing attorney general.

The divorce comes nearly a week after Paxton, a Republican, lost his U.S. Senate race by double digits to Democrat James Talarico. The contest was one of the most expensive of the midterm elections, which saw a wave of victories for Democrats across the country.

Angela Paxton, a state senator, cited allegations of adultery when she sought to end the marriage. She filed for divorce after her husband had launched his run for Senate, posting on social media that she was doing so on "biblical grounds."

Jared Julian, a lawyer for Ken Paxton, said the terms of the divorce would remain private. From his observation, however, the two share a mutual respect for one another, and both appeared to be looking forward to the next chapters of their lives.

An attorney for Angela Paxton did not immediately respond to phone and email messages on Thursday. The finalized divorce was first reported by The New York Times.

Angela Paxton had stood by her husband through a decade of legal troubles that included state and federal corruption investigations and a 2023 state impeachment trial that publicly exposed an extramarital affair.

In the Senate race, Paxton beat the long-seated incumbent, Senator John Cornyn, in the primary and gained President Donald Trump's endorsement, yet he struggled to find traction in the general election against Talarico. The race, a longshot for Democrats when the year began, became partly a referendum on Paxton's history.

In October, less than a month before the election, Angela Paxton urged voters to back the Republican ticket but did not mention her estranged husband by name in the campaign advertisement, saying it was about getting the whole team across the finish line.

Democrat Nathan Johnson has been elected attorney general and will take office in January.