Ken Paxton’s Divorce Drama Gets “Biblically” Messy

Summary

Bulwark Takes: Ken Paxton’s Divorce Drama Gets “Biblically” Messy
Release Date: July 11, 2025

In this episode of Bulwark Takes, hosts Sam Stein and Will Sommer delve into the tumultuous divorce proceedings of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, exploring the far-reaching political and personal implications of this high-profile split. The discussion is rich with insights into Paxton's controversial career, the reaction from the Republican establishment, and the potential impact on the upcoming Senate primaries in Texas.

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1. Ken Paxton’s Divorce Announcement

The episode kicks off with the surprising news that Ken Paxton, a prominent and often contentious figure in Texas politics, has been served with divorce papers by his wife, Angela Paxton, who is herself a state senator.

Sam Stein highlights the rarity of such an event:

“...the Attorney General of one of the more populous states in the country gets, you know, I don't know, served with a divorce filing.” [00:29]

This announcement not only personalizes Paxton’s already controversial public persona but also introduces a new layer of complexity to his political career.

2. National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) Reaction

The NRSC issued a statement condemning the situation, which Sam Stein finds unexpected given their usual support dynamics.

Sam Stein summarizes the NRSC’s stance:

“The NRSC National Republican Senatorial Committee says what Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting...,” [00:58]

This outburst from the NRSC appears to signal internal conflicts, especially as Paxton is challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn.

3. Ken Paxton’s Controversial Background

Will Sommer provides a detailed account of Paxton’s checkered history, emphasizing his repeated entanglements in scandals and legal issues.

Will Sommer recounts a notable incident:

“There was surveillance video from a Collin County Courthouse in 2012 that showed Paxton taking a Mont Blanc pen worth $1,000...and snatched it. It was a thousand. He just took the pen and he got caught.” [03:57]

This anecdote underscores Paxton's reputation for unethical behavior, which has repeatedly put him under scrutiny.

4. Political Implications for the Texas Senate Race

The revelation of Paxton’s divorce comes at a critical juncture as he vies for a Senate seat against John Cornyn. Both hosts discuss the strategic implications of this development.

Will Sommer analyzes the NRSC’s position:

“The NRC's obviously taken a stand here. They want Cornyn to win the primary. He's losing badly in all these primary polls, so they're putting themselves into corner.” [01:25]

This maneuver indicates the NRSC’s attempt to salvage Cornyn’s campaign amidst declining support.

5. Online and Public Reactions

The hosts examine the backlash Angela Paxton has received online following her divorce announcement, particularly criticism from the Republican base.

Will Sommer observes:

“If you look at the responses to her tweet about it, they're like, there are no biblical grounds for divorce. Marriage is indissoluble...,” [05:09]

This hostile reaction highlights the polarized nature of contemporary politics, where personal matters become battlegrounds for ideological conflicts.

6. Potential Democratic Challenges

Looking ahead, Sam Stein and Will Sommer discuss the potential for Democratic challengers to capitalize on the instability within the Texas Republican primary.

Will Sommer mentions emerging Democratic figures:

“Our colleague Lauren Egan was reporting that there's newfound optimism that they could flip a couple Republicans... James Talarika, who is like this young Texas rep... is considering a Senate bid.” [07:05]

He notes Talarika’s rising prominence and effective communication strategies as possible assets for the Democrats in a traditionally Republican stronghold.

7. Conclusion and Additional Resources

Wrapping up, the hosts recommend further resources for listeners interested in the full scope of Ken Paxton’s scandals and political maneuvers.

Will Sommer suggests:

“Our friends over at Crooked, Aaron Ryan and Alyssa Master Monaco... they did one a little while ago on Paxton... it’s worth a watch if you haven’t seen already.” [08:45]

He emphasizes the depth of coverage available for those seeking to understand the intricacies of Paxton’s influence and the ongoing political drama.

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This episode of Bulwark Takes offers a comprehensive analysis of Ken Paxton’s personal and political turmoil, shedding light on how his divorce could reshape the political landscape in Texas. Through engaging dialogue and insightful commentary, Sam Stein and Will Sommer provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of the interplay between personal scandals and political strategy.

Transcript

[Nephew]

I'm gonna put you on, nephew.

[Will Sommer]

All right, unc. Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Nephew]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for years. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.

[Will Sommer]

All right. Hey, guys. Sam Stein managing out at the Bulwark, joined by Will Sommer, who is looking jacked. Will Muscle T. Look at that. Muscle tea.

[Sam Stein]

I thought we were done for the day, but this is an emergency podcast.

[Will Sommer]

Emergency pod.

[Sam Stein]

We got a video. Yeah.

[Will Sommer]

It's not every day that the Senate can. Who's the Attorney General of one of the more populous state in the country gets, you know, I don't know, served with a divorce filing. I don't know how. What do you even say? Anyways, Ken Paxton's wife said she's filing for a divorce. That's what happened today. And there was this very interesting statement out from the nrsc. I want to go find it because they're gonna have to walk this bad boy back at some point when Ken Paxton.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah. And so this is the Senate Republicans campaign arm that works to get more Republicans elected to the Senate.

[Will Sommer]

Yes. I have more respect for our viewers than you do, because I feel like they should know that. But don't worry about. We'll put that aside. The NRSC National Republican Senatorial Committee says what Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting. No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her. And she, as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time. Ouch. That's kind of rare.

[Sam Stein]

That's. That's crazy.

[Will Sommer]

It's crazy. It's a little crazy because she. Because he's going to win. Now let's back up. Ken Paxton is challenging John Cornyn, who is the incumbent senator. The NRC's obviously taken a stand here. They want Cornyn to win the primary. He's losing badly in all these primary polls, so they're putting themselves into corner. But what do you make of all this? Ken Paxton kind of a shady character to begin with.

[Sam Stein]

Yeah.

[Will Sommer]

Well.

[Sam Stein]

Well, I can tell you as a. As a sort of native Texan myself. Yes.

[Will Sommer]

Credentials.

[Sam Stein]

Ken Paxton's antics. Yeah. I mean, he's a. A. You know, if folks Google Ken Paxton scandal, you'll. You'll spend the whole night reading about different ones.

[Will Sommer]

There's some good ones. I'll tell you my favorite in a little bit, but go ahead. So.

[Sam Stein]

So yeah, I Mean, this is a guy. He's the attorney general. He is a kind of constantly embroiled in investigations. He's had, at least, I think, one affair that came out previously, and then this, like, got to the floor of the legislature, and his wife is a state senator. So she was there for it. I mean, it's really. But. But this suggests, I think her statement, she says that there were new discoveries or new revelations.

[Will Sommer]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sam Stein]

So that suggests to me that maybe, Ken, something else has come out.

[Will Sommer]

Well, so there were allegations of an affair with a woman who at one point in time may have been colleagues with Ken Paxton's wife, who is, correct me, from. She's a state lawmaker. Right. Is she in the state House?

[Sam Stein]

Yes.

[Will Sommer]

Okay. And even when Ken Paxton was going through his. The impeachment proceedings, his wife Angela was just by his side the entire time. She was not allowed to participate in the proceedings because, well, she's clearly biased and so voting on her own husband's.

[Sam Stein]

No one wonders in which direction at the time.

[Will Sommer]

At the time, there was concern that she would be biased in his direction. She. But she sat there during the proceedings wearing red, which was the color of Paxton supporters, and glaring at her colleagues through it all, and she stood by his side amid all this stuff. Ken Paxton is an unsavory character, let's put it that way. There's a whole load of problematic things in his past. My favorite one is this. I'm going to just read from Wikipedia, but supported by a number of different articles. There was surveillance video from a Collin County Courthouse in 2012 that showed Paxton taking a Mont Blanc pen worth $1,000, which had been accidentally left behind at a metal detector by a fellow lawyer, Joe Joplin. The pen was later returned, quote, when the error was realized, said a spokesman for Paxton, the surveillance video was pretty conclusive that he saw the pen, realized it was an incredibly valuable pen, and then snatched it. It was a thousand. He just took the pen and he got caught.

[Sam Stein]

And then he was like, oh, I didn't realize.

[Will Sommer]

It was not my penny. No, it just goes to show you.

[Sam Stein]

It goes beyond kind of like typical, you know, politician allegation, corruptions. I mean, his is famously like a huge amount of people in his office quit and then worked as whistleblowers. And these were, you know, otherwise Ken Paxton loyalists who were like, whoa, like, you know, if I stay here, I might face an indictment. Something like that.

[Will Sommer]

And he would always fundraise from ethically dubious characters to help fund his legal bills. He would ask for Taxpayers to, To help support his. His legal bills. And yet he keeps winning and he keeps moving up the ladder.

[Sam Stein]

Yes, he does. I mean, I mean, my experience with him was that he was involved with these efforts to shut down this, this Muslim housing development, Epic City in Dallas. And they, Epic City hired his lawyer. And then he was furious about it because obviously he has, like, a very good defense lawyer himself. You know, where do we think this is going to? How does this play into the primary?

[Will Sommer]

God knows. But if you judge by, if you go by the online reaction, I'm going to pull this up. This might be a shock to you, but if you just look at the Twitter sphere and how they're reacting because they both tweeted about the divorce the wife put up. I think she said. What did she say? Something like, I have to do this for biblical reasons.

[Sam Stein]

Yes, I filed for divorce on biblical grounds. And then she says, in light of recent discoveries.

[Will Sommer]

Right? So if you look at, like someone was pointing this out. If you look at the responses to her tweet about it, they're like, there are no biblical grounds for divorce. Marriage is indissoluble. Like, I mean, they're all. It's just nasty, nasty stuff directed at her. And then when Ken tweets out about it, he's like, you know, it's a sad thing, sad chapter in her life, but I wish her the best. It's like all of them is like prayer emojis. Sending you our prayers with love, can we love you. And I forget what the quote was. Maybe you remember who. Who had the famous quote. But it's like in these Republican primaries, like, you just got to be the crazy son of the bitch in the room. And do you remember who the quote was?

[Sam Stein]

I feel like that before, but it's good.

[Will Sommer]

It's good in Tom Massey, honestly. But I'll have to double check it. But anyway, I feel like that's just the case here. It's being the craziest son of the in the room is what gets you to victory in this prime. And Ken Paxton's like, proof part of it.

[Sam Stein]

Well, you know, one thing I thought. Thought is interesting here. I mean, her post is obviously very heavily implying an affair or some other sordid thing to come, right?

[Will Sommer]

Like, what did she discover that wasn't already known? Like, well, I don't know this. Like, I think we knew a lot.

[Sam Stein]

I suspect one suspect it'll come out right. Like, this is going to be a very nasty primary. And then his post is saying, you know, he says the libs have been added again. You know, after so many slings and arrows, my marriage has suffered. You know, we had to break up because of, you know, rude tweets or whatever.

[Will Sommer]

I know, and this probably is why I can never do politics in my life. But, like, at one point, don't you, like, does the spin. Do you ever, like, say, no, maybe I shouldn't, you know, spin this one? Like, this is. This is too much. Like, this is too personal. John Cornyn is. How close is he to saying, like, you know, the Deep state is, like, involved this. Like, I mean, we're like, one step away from that. Right?

[Sam Stein]

I mean, I suspect. I mean, in all seriousness, I mean, if. If. I think if Angela Paxton keeps talking about it, I'm sure there's a smear campaign that's going to. That's going to work.

[Will Sommer]

Well, I, you know, the Democrats are kind of excited about Texas this year. Our colleague Lauren Egan was reporting that there's, like, newfound optimism that they could. That this is one of those seats where they need, you know, they need to flip a couple Republicans that, you know, if Paxton were to emerge from the primary, that it would put this in play. Colin Allred, who ran against Ted Cruz and came relatively close, you know, is up is again this cycle. It's going to be a more favorable cycle this time around. And then there's this guy, this Representative, James Talarika, who I don't know if you've seen any of this stuff, but he is like this young Texas rep. I don't follow Texas State House stuff at all, honestly. I mean, I do a little bit tangent, but this guy is constantly popping up in my social media feeds because he does these incredibly viral. And it's not like, gimmicky stuff. He just gives these really impactful speeches, and he has this incredible way of doing these questionings in these hearings, including on stuff like the Ten Commandments in the school and school choice. And his clips go viral constantly. And he's going on Joe Rogan, and it looks like he also is considering a Senate bid. And that would be really fascinating because he did. This dude is articulate in ways that not many Democrats are. And I have a suspicion that he's got some smart people pushing him along as well. So we'll see what happens. I'm never one to consider that a Democrat will actually pull it off in Texas. It's been a while. But you would know this. You know the state a little bit better than I do. Is it possible?

[Sam Stein]

I mean, you know, I think, as you said, we've heard this song a lot, you know, all the time. Extremely unlikely. But then again, it does seem like Ken Paxton. You know, we'll see what remains to come out here. But the. You know, I mean, he's ahead of John cornyn by like, 15 points.

[Will Sommer]

A lot. Jeez. Yeah. Well, there's the dossier, and Ken Paxton is incredible. I would encourage people, if they're more. If they're kind of interested in it. Our friends over at Crooked, Aaron Ryan and Alyssa Master Monaco. They did this incredible video. It's. They have a whole series of things called this Fucking Guy where they just go after one dude about destroying America. And they did one a little while ago on Campax. And that unpacks about 30 minutes of scandal. And they probably could have gone for another 30 minutes. It's worth a watch if you haven't seen already. Can't believe I'm plugging them so hard, but it's worth it. In the meantime, I will plug us. Well, thanks for doing this on short notice. Really appreciate it. Thank you, guys for watching.

[Nephew]

I'm gonna put you on nephew.

[Will Sommer]

I don't. Welcome to McDonald's. Can I take your order, miss?

[Nephew]

I've been hitting up McDonald's for is. Now it's back. We need snack wraps. What's a snack wrap? It's the return of something great. Snack wrap is back.