Ken Paxton
FACT FOCUS: Posts falsely claim Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico was at a mental facility
AUSTIN, Texas | Republican officials and conservative social media users spread unfounded rumors in recent days that state Rep. James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in a competitive Texas Senate race, had suffered a mental health crisis. Questions about Talarico’s whereabouts began spreading after the candidate was not seen in public for nine days. But he […]
Inside Ken Paxton’s jet-setting lifestyle: California wineries, European hot spots and ski resorts
AUSTIN, Texas | When Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched his campaign for Senate last year, he skipped the local pageantry. Instead, records show, the conservative firebrand announced his bid on Fox News, cleared his calendar and booked a hotel in Augusta, Georgia, during the storied Masters golf tournament, a trip that cost Texas taxpayers […]
Trump defends Iran war, slams Democrats and promises cash at Republicans’ midterm convention
DALLAS | President Donald Trump capped Wednesday’s opening night of the unusual Republican midterm convention by slamming Democrats as extremists and staunchly defending the war in Iran while making the extraordinary pledge to pay every adult American $5,000 if his party retains its control of both chambers of Congress after November. The proposal, which could […]
Trump announces first-ever midterm convention for GOP in Dallas in September
President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Republicans will hold their first-ever national convention ahead of November’s midterm elections, an unusual event aimed at boosting turnout in races that will decide whether the party maintains control of Congress. The convention will be held in Dallas on Sept. 9 and 10. Although both major parties traditionally hold […]
Trump accuses Democrats of hypocrisy on Platner, despite questions about his own conduct
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump laced into Graham Platner on Wednesday, calling the Senate candidate from Maine a “thug” and a “pig” and suggesting that the Democratic Party was hypocritical for lining up behind someone with so many questions about his past personal conduct and treatment of women. That line of political attack was striking […]
POLMAN: Conservatives used to preach good morals. Now they splash in the sewer
I’m old enough to remember when conservatives routinely preached a good game about the importance of morality in politics. This was back in the 1990s when Bill Clinton was known to… how shall I say this… fancy the ladies. His behavior prompted many on the Republican right to furrow their brows and insist our leaders […]
Paxton dominates Cornyn in Texas US Senate runoff, the latest sign of Trump’s hold on GOP
PLANO, Texas | Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, easily defeating four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the latest contest where President Donald Trump sought to oust an incumbent he saw as insufficiently loyal. Trump endorsed Paxton last week, calling him a “true MAGA warrior.” Paxton’s victory in […]
Cornyn tries to hold on to Texas Senate seat in runoff with Paxton, the latest test of Trump’s power
PLANO, Texas | Texans are choosing a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s runoff election, bringing to a close the extended, bitter and expensive primary where President Donald Trump weighed in late to tip the race in another effort to rid the GOP of leaders less devoted to him. Trump’s endorsement of state Attorney […]
Democratic senators testing GOP unity with vote on Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
WASHINGTON | Democratic senators plan to force a vote this week on President Donald Trump’s new $1.776 billion settlement fund to compensate political allies, testing Republican unity as Trump lashes out at lawmakers in his own party. Republicans are expected to vote on a roughly $72 billion bill to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and […]
Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie charted his own way, until toppled by Trump
There aren’t manylawmakerslike Thomas Massieleft in Congress. The renegade Republican who rose to prominence as an idiosyncratic and stubborn outlier in his party, popular in the Kentucky district that repeatedly sent him to the House, lost his primary bid for reelection Tuesday after a vicious and costly attack by President Donald Trump. The stunning outcome […]