Category: State Official — Attorney General Role: Texas Attorney General (2015–present); 2026 Republican nominee for U.S. Senate (Texas); former Texas State Senator (2012–2014); former Texas State Representative (2002–2012) Profile Type: Accountability Profile — Public Official (elected statewide officer) Priority: P1 — Filed Texas v. Pennsylvania to overturn 2020 election results in four states; impeached by the Texas House on bribery and abuse-of-office charges; lost a $6.6 million whistleblower-retaliation judgment; ended a nine-year state securities-fraud prosecution via pretrial diversion after the SEC’s parallel federal case was dismissed with prejudice

Basis for Inclusion

Subject classification: Public Official (elected statewide officer — Texas Attorney General; 2026 major-party U.S. Senate nominee)

Anchor criterion met: As a sitting Attorney General, Paxton used the authority of his office to file Texas v. Pennsylvania — a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the certified election results of four sovereign states — and was formally impeached by his own state legislature on charges of bribery and abuse of office.

A Texas court has entered a $6.6 million judgment against his office for firing the aides who reported him to the FBI. He was indicted on felony securities-fraud charges that were resolved in 2024 by pretrial diversion (charges dismissed after restitution, community service, and ethics training). These are documented official actions and adjudicated legal proceedings, not political speech.

What is NOT the basis for inclusion: Paxton’s Republican affiliation, his conservative legal philosophy, his endorsement of political candidates, or his political opinions are not the basis for this profile.

Background

Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr. (born December 1, 1963) earned his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1990. He served in the Texas House of Representatives (2002–2012) and the Texas State Senate (2012–2014) before being elected Attorney General in 2014. On May 26, 2026, he defeated incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the Republican runoff for U.S. Senate and became the Republican nominee for that seat in the November 2026 general election.

Documented Actions

1. Texas v. Pennsylvania — Attempt to Overturn 2020 Election (December 2020)

On December 7, 2020, Paxton filed an original action in the U.S. Supreme Court (Texas v. Pennsylvania, No. 22O155) seeking to invalidate the certified election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — all states that President-elect Biden won.

The lawsuit alleged that these states made unconstitutional changes to their election procedures. Constitutional law scholars across the ideological spectrum described the suit as legally unprecedented and lacking merit:

• It asked one state to invalidate another state’s election results — a theory with no constitutional basis
• 18 Republican state attorneys general joined as amici
• 126 Republican House members signed an amicus brief supporting the suit

On December 11, 2020, the Supreme Court denied the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint “for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution,” holding that “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.” All other pending motions were dismissed as moot.

Source: Texas v. Pennsylvania, No. 22O155, U.S. Supreme Court, order dated December 11, 2020. Docket: SCOTUSblog case page.

2. Securities Fraud Case — Indicted 2015, Resolved by Pretrial Diversion (March 2024)

In July 2015, a Collin County grand jury indicted Paxton on two first-degree felony charges of securities fraud and one third-degree felony charge of failing to register with state securities regulators. The charges related to his promotion of Servergy Inc. stock to investors without disclosing that the company was compensating him for the referrals. Venue was later transferred to Harris County.

• Parallel SEC civil case dismissed with prejudice (March 2017). U.S. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant III of the Eastern District of Texas dismissed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit against Paxton for the second and final time, concluding Paxton “had no plausible legal duty” to tell Servergy investors he was being paid to promote the company (Courthouse News Service, March 2017).
• State criminal case ended by pretrial diversion (March 26, 2024). Weeks before trial, special prosecutors and Paxton’s counsel announced an agreement in a Houston courtroom under which Paxton would pay nearly $300,000 in restitution, complete 100 hours of community service, and take ethics-training courses — after which the two first-degree felony counts and the third-degree felony count would be dismissed. Paxton did not plead guilty to any offense (Associated Press via KCRA, March 26, 2024; Indiana Lawyer / AP recap).

Court record: State of Texas v. Warren Kenneth Paxton Jr., Collin County (indictment filed July 2015); case transferred to Harris County, 177th Judicial District, in 2017; charges dismissed under pretrial diversion agreement, March 26, 2024.

3. Texas House Impeachment — Bribery and Abuse of Office (May 2023)

On May 27, 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted 121–23 to impeach Paxton on 20 articles of impeachment adopted as House Resolution 2377 (88th Legislature, Regular Session). The articles included, among other charges: