Angela Paxton
Majority Leader of the Texas Senate
Assumed office
September 16, 2023
Preceded byTan Parker (acting)
In office
January 25, 2023 – July 17, 2023
Preceded byLarry Taylor
Succeeded byTan Parker (acting)
Member of the Texas Senate
from the 8th district
Assumed office
January 8, 2019
Preceded byVan Taylor
Personal details
Born
Angela Suzanne Allen

(1963-02-14) February 14, 1963
New Braunfels, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKen Paxton
Children4
EducationBaylor University (BS)
University of Houston, Clear Lake (MEd)

Angela Suzanne Paxton (née Allen on February 14, 1963)[1] is an American politician from the state of Texas. A member of the Republican Party, she has represented District 8 in the Texas Senate since 2019.

Her political career has been closely tied to her husband, current Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton.[1]

Early life and career

Paxton was born on February 14, 1963, in New Braunfels, Texas. Her mother was a college student who put Angela up for adoption. She was taken in by a couple who could not have children, a fact which she later credited for her commitment to the anti-abortion movement.[1]

She attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and was the first in her family to attend college. At Baylor, Angela met her future husband Ken Paxton, who was serving as the student body president. They married in 1986.[2] She then earned her master's degree in education from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.[1] After earning her master's degree, Paxton taught math in public schools in Collin County. She then worked as a guidance counselor at Legacy Christian Academy.[1]

Political career

When Van Taylor vacated his seat in the Texas Senate to run for Congress, Paxton joined the race for District 8 in September 2017. Paxton ran against businessman Phillip Huffines in the Republican primary. At over $10 million spent between the two campaigns, the race was the most expensive Senate primary in Texas history. Her husband's campaign guaranteed her a $2 million loan. Paxton won the primary by 9 points and narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Mark Phariss in the general election.[1]

In February 2019, Paxton introduced Senate Bill 860, which would allow her husband Ken Paxton, the Texas Attorney General, the power to issue exemptions from securities regulations. Billed as a consumer protection effort, the proposal would allow approved individuals to serve as investment advisers without registering with the state board.[3] Paxton said the bill to change state securities law "has literally nothing to do" with a criminal case charging her husband Ken Paxton with defrauding investors.[4]

Her husband was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives as the Attorney General of Texas on May 27, 2023. When Paxton declined to recuse herself from the trial, she was barred by the Texas Senate from voting on her husband's impeachment.[1][5][6] The impeachment trial began on September 5, 2023, in the 31-member Texas Senate. Ken Paxton was acquitted of all charges on September 16, 2023.

Personal life

Angela and Ken Paxton helped to found Stonebriar Community Church, a Christian evangelical megachurch, in Frisco, Texas, in the 1990s. The couple later joined megachurch Prestonwood Baptist Church.[1]

Election history

Texas Senate, District 8, Republican primary, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Angela Paxton 32,756 54.3
Republican Phillip Huffines 27,545 45.7
Total votes 60,301 100.0
Texas Senate, District 8, general election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Angela Paxton 169,995 51.18
Democratic Mark Phariss 162,157 48.82
Total votes 332,152 100.0
Republican hold
Texas Senate, District 8, general election, 2022[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Angela Paxton 187,754 57.69
Democratic Jonathan Cocks 128,399 39.45
Libertarian Edward Kless 9,293 2.86
Total votes 325,446 100.0
Republican hold

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Klibanoff, Eleanor (May 28, 2023). "All eyes on Sen. Angela Paxton as Texas Senate takes up her husband's removal". Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Who is state Sen. Angela Paxton? What to know about the wife of embattled Texas AG Ken Paxton". Houston Chronicle. May 27, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Sen. Angela Paxton files bill that would allow her husband, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to issue exemptions from securities regulations". The Texas Tribune.
  4. ↑ "Sen. Angela Paxton Says Bill To Change State Securities Law 'Has Literally Nothing To Do' With Husband's Criminal Case". CBS DFW.
  5. ↑ Goodman, J. David (May 31, 2023). "How Angela Paxton Could Help Decide the Fate of Her Embattled Husband, Ken". The New York Times. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Texas Sen. Angela Paxton barred from voting in husband's impeachment trial". ABC News. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  7. ↑ https://results.texas-election.com/races?expandOfcType=DISTRICT%20OFFICES
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