Weeks after Texas Values withdrew their endorsement of Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in his senate race, another ally is speaking out against the senatorial hopeful. Jason Vaughn, a conservative activist and founder of Pro-Life Texas, has penned an op-ed denouncing Attorney General Paxton.
In the op-ed, Vaughn, who previously served as policy director for Texas Young Republicans, provides insight into his involvement with Texas Politics, adding that throughout the process, his support for the attorney general has soured.
Vaughn believes that Attorney General Paxton once embodied "faith, courage, conviction," but he now argues that the attorney general's actions have proven otherwise.
He outlines three main reasons for withdrawing his support. Namely, the attorney general’s treatment of his wife, his staff, and Texas children.
“Ken Paxton didn’t make a one-time mistake. He had a years-long affair,” Vaughn notes, pointing to state Senator Angela Paxton’s (R) recent decision to file for divorce on “Biblical grounds." Vaughn says he admires her strength but is disgusted by how some Republicans turned on her, calling her “disloyal” for finally saying “enough.”
He also criticizes how Attorney General Paxton treated his own staff. After senior aides raised concerns about the attorney general’s ties to real estate investor Nate Paul, they were fired.
“These staffers weren’t political enemies. These were trusted conservatives,” Vaughn wrote. The whistleblower settlement has since grown to $6.6 million, which is still unpaid.
“Paxton punished them for telling the truth,” Vaughn added.
Finally, Vaughn condemns Attorney General Paxton for delaying a ruling on whether gender-transition procedures for minors could be considered child abuse.
The request, Vaughn argues, “sat on Paxton’s desk for 179 days” and was only released a week before the GOP primary. “That’s not leadership. That’s using children as props to score points.”
In the end, Vaughn argues that the evidence against the attorney general is clear. “He betrayed his wife. He retaliated against his own. He used taxpayer dollars to shield himself. He manipulated children’s issues to serve his campaign.”
Attorney General Paxton has been embroiled in a storm of controversy as of late. Despite this, he remains in a close race against incumbent Senator John Cornyn (R).
