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'''Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr.''', known as '''Ken Paxton''' (born December 23, 1962), is an [[United States|American]] [[lawyer]] and [[politician]] who has been since January 2015 the [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]] attorney general of his adopted state of [[Texas]].

'''Warren Kenneth Paxton, Jr.''', known as '''Ken Paxton''' (born December 23, 1962), is an [[United States|American]] [[lawyer]] and [[politician]] who has been since January 2015 the [[conservative]] [[Republican Party|Republican]] attorney general of his adopted state of [[Texas]].

==Personal life==

==Personal life==

In the summer of 2020, Paxton's long-time conservative credentials came under scrutiny when he wrote a trial court asking that a suit filed in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] by Dr. Steven F. Hotze, executive director of the group, Conservative Republican, be dismissed for lack of standing and jurisdiction. Hotze challenged the designation "non-essential businesses" used during the [[coronavirus]] pandemic by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who has ruined many businesses with her directives. Hotze even questioned the conservative credentials of Governor [[Greg Abbott]], who declined at the time to call the state legislature in special session to address the matter of pandemic closures.<ref>Dr. Steven F. Hotze, "Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton supported avowed Socialist Democrat, Harris County Judge Hidalgo in the lawsuit, Hotze et al. v Hidalgo," Conservative Republicans of Texas, August 4, 2020.</ref>

In the summer of 2020, Paxton's long-time conservative credentials came under scrutiny when he wrote a trial court asking that a suit filed in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]] by Dr. Steven F. Hotze, executive director of the group, Conservative Republican, be dismissed for lack of standing and jurisdiction. Hotze challenged the designation "non-essential businesses" used during the [[coronavirus]] pandemic by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who has ruined many businesses with her directives. Hotze even questioned the conservative credentials of Governor [[Greg Abbott]], who declined at the time to call the state legislature in special session to address the matter of pandemic closures.<ref>Dr. Steven F. Hotze, "Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton supported avowed Socialist Democrat, Harris County Judge Hidalgo in the lawsuit, Hotze et al. v Hidalgo," Conservative Republicans of Texas, August 4, 2020.</ref>

In May 2023, Attorney General Paxton called for the resignation of state House Speaker [[Dade Phelan]] after Phelan appeared inebriated while presiding over the House. Paxton also said that Phelan has repeatedly blocked many conservative measures in the House which were already approved in the state Senate under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor [[Dan Patrick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thelibertydaily.com/ken-paxton-calls-on-texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan-to-resign-after-debilitating-intoxication/|title=Ken Paxton Calls on Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to Resign After “Debilitating Intoxication”|author=J. D. Rucker|date=May 23, 2023|accessdate=May 24, 2023}}</ref>

In the primary held on March 1, 2022, former State Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman and outgoing [[U.S. Representative]] [[Louie Gohmert]] of [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]] finished in third and fourth place, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/louie-gohmert-republican-lawmaker-who-downplayed-the-insurrection-wants-to-be-the-top-law-enforcement-officer-in-texas/ar-AAR1jMm?ocid=msedgntp|title=Louie Gohmert: Republican lawmaker who downplayed the insurrection wants to be the top law enforcement officer in Texas|publisher=msn.com|date=November 23, 2021|author=Devan Cole|accessdate=November 24, 2021}}</ref>

 

Paxton won renomination to a third term in the Republican [[primary]] runoff held on May 24, 2022, when he handily defeated the outgoing state Land Commissioner [[George P. Bush]], the son of the [[Moderate Republican]] former [[Florida]] [[Governor]] [[Jeb Bush]] and uncle of the Moderate Republican former [[U.S. President]] [[George W. Bush]]. In the 2022 runoff, Paxton polled 630,064 votes (68 percent) to Bush's 297,025 (32 percent). Paxton then faced the challenge from [[liberal]] [[Democratic Party|Democrat]] attorney general nominee Rochelle Mercedes Garza, a former attorney with the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] from [[Brownsville]] who graduated from [[Brown University]] in [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]] and then obtained her law degree in 2011 from the University of Houston.  Notwithstanding issues surrounding him, Paxton won re-election to this third term in office.

 

In March 2023, the House General Investigating Committee announced an investigation into what it termed at the time to be "Matter A".

 

In May 2023, the Committee revealed that the subject of "Matter A" was, in fact, Paxton.  Afterwards, in response, Paxton called for the resignation of state House Speaker [[Dade Phelan]] after Phelan appeared inebriated while presiding over the House.<ref>Video clips of the incident are widely circulated.  It should be known that the incident took place on May 11, 2023, the 122nd day of the Regular Session, when all bills originating in the House (excluding those on the Local and Consent Calendar) must either receive a vote by midnight or be considered dead.  The Democrats, as usual, engaged in the regular practice of [[chubbing]], so as to slow down the process; by the time of the incident the daily session has been going on for 14 hours and a particular bill was on its 23rd amendment; it has been argued that Phelan's actions were the result of fatigue.</ref>  Paxton also said that Phelan has repeatedly blocked many conservative measures in the House which were already approved in the state Senate under the leadership of Lieutenant Governor [[Dan Patrick]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thelibertydaily.com/ken-paxton-calls-on-texas-house-speaker-dade-phelan-to-resign-after-debilitating-intoxication/|title=Ken Paxton Calls on Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan to Resign After “Debilitating Intoxication”|author=J. D. Rucker|date=May 23, 2023|accessdate=May 24, 2023}}</ref>

==References==

==References==