• 
• Team Talarico @TeamTalaricoHQ

Ken Paxton: The only thing that really saves us is that the Supreme Court came along and allowed Super PACs. Otherwise... I would be sitting here and never have a chance...

• 12:43 AM · Sep 29, 2026

This guy...

G.O.P. Nominee in Texas Privately Said Trump’s Convention Hurt Him

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/us/politics/ken-paxton-trump-midterm-convention.html

Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, told a group of conservative donors and lobbyists last week that President Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas had hurt Mr. Paxton politically, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.

The recording, which is muffled at times, captures Mr. Paxton being asked, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” It is not clear from the audio whom the questioner is referring to.

Mr. Paxton responds: “So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”

1 hour ago, TexasHooch said:

This guy...

Trump has to nip this in the bud. He already had a problem with Byron Donald’s scrubbing him from his website and Trump denying that, and now Trump is going to hold rallies in Florida for him. Trump gets pissed at the implication that Republicans are moving on without him.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article317396494.html

Trump is liable to come down here and hold rallies for Paxton (and take more donor money away from Paxton and back to Mar a Lago).

Live look at Paxton

1 hour ago, TexasHooch said:

This guy...

G.O.P. Nominee in Texas Privately Said Trump’s Convention Hurt Him

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/us/politics/ken-paxton-trump-midterm-convention.html

L O Fucking L

Trump claping back at Paxton on Truth when he finally sees this gonna be hilarious

Gotta imagine that this also has Abbott, Patrick and all other down-ballot dipshits clinching their buttholes (not sure about Abbott - he may have no sphincter control).

On 9/11/2026 at 1:15 AM, Ghost of NMAS said:

Lazy eye is a sign of low T

Also a sign of not being woke.

4 hours ago, TexasHooch said:

This guy...

G.O.P. Nominee in Texas Privately Said Trump’s Convention Hurt Him

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/us/politics/ken-paxton-trump-midterm-convention.html

Trump is not going to like Paxton talking crap about his idea, all while Trump is pushing money towards Paxton. And it means something that the NYT has this story. Trump loves to hate on the NYT but everyone says he follows their news.

Yep. We're about to see how influential Susie Wiles actually is, because every instinct in Trump's miserable body will be to nuke Paxton.

I don't like her odds.

Too bad Pablo Torre didn't set his sights on Paxton over the last few months.

7 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Live look at Paxton

Vance is campaigning in South Texas LOL

Midterm Elections Updates: J.D. Vance Campaigns for Republicans in Texas as Support Wanes - The New York Times

Fox News about to be removed from the broadcast pool

Trump freezes as Fox News asks about Ken Paxton insulting him Raw Story

President Donald Trump paused for a long moment when Fox News asked, "Why go to Texas?" after Senate nominee Ken Paxton (R-TX) privately cast shade on the president's convention for hurting his campaign.

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy asked the question Thursday afternoon outside the White House as Trump prepared to board Marine One for his first campaign stop of the week.

The White House had again removed CNN from the broadcast pool at the last moment, leaving no pool camera, and drums in the background made the president difficult to hear.

"If Ken Paxton is telling people behind closed doors that he thinks the convention hurt his poll numbers, why go to Texas?" Doocy asked.

"Well…" Trump replied, before a long, uncharacteristic pause.

"I'll tell you what... We have to win this election. That convention, you were there. That convention was a tremendous success," the president eventually said before claiming the convention drew 107 million views compared with 24 million for an NFL broadcast airing against it.

"In other words, we beat the NFL by four times," he insisted.

Paxton told about a dozen conservative donors and lobbyists at a private Washington fundraiser last week that Trump's midterm convention in Dallas this month had hurt him, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.

I can think of no better karma for Ken Paxton than to have the President who's under 30% in approval come down to Texas and campaign on his behalf, unless it's having J.D. Vance come and campaign for him. Paxton attached himself to Trump by the hip during his primary run. Let the leopards eat his face.

It's Alternet, but you can see their sources. Also didn't realize that Patrick McHenry was so fucking pissed off at Paxton for bitching about Trump, lol.

Ken Paxton is losing votes in Texas — but not to James Talarico

Republicans are worried that their Senate candidate in Texas, State Attorney General Ken Paxton, is going to lose precious votes in his tight race against the Democratic nominee, State Rep. James Talarico — yet it's not only Talarico who worries them.

"Democratic operatives believe that some Republican voters won’t feel comfortable backing the scandal-plagued Paxton," The Bulwark's Lauren Egan reported on Wednesday. "They told me that the contentious GOP primary between Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn only deepened the fracture in the party’s base. It piqued a lot of interest when Cornyn posted a local news story to his X account in June about how Libertarian Ted Brown was courting disaffected conservative voters."

Egan then quoted a Texas-based Democratic strategist close to Talarico's campaign who said, “There are a non-insignificant number of Cornyn voters who I think are up for grabs and are uncomfortable with the idea of Ken Paxton—and maybe at this point, after all the ads, could be uncomfortable with [Talarico]. There’s a world where Ted Brown gets 3 or 4 percent of the vote in this thing.”

Egan added, "That would be a significant shift from the competitive 2018 Senate matchup between Beto O’Rourke and Sen. Ted Cruz, when the Libertarian on the ballot received 0.8 percent of the vote. O’Rourke lost that race by 2.6 percentage points."

Paxton is a controversial candidate because of his multiple scandals, which span from infidelity and abusing his office to target political enemies to allegedly accepting bribes, abusing his office to hire a wealthy friend and fighting for a disproportionately light sentence for a convicted child sex abuser.

More recently, Paxton angered fellow Republicans when he was recorded saying at a private fundraiser that he believes President Donald Trump, who helped Paxton win the nomination by endorsing him over the incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, is actually a drag on the ticket.

“Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” Paxton was asked at the event.

He replied, “So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”

At least one Texas political power broker was furious at the statement.

“Paxton was made and invented by Donald Trump," former Texas House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry on CNN with Kasie Hunt. "He was his savior. He got him through being impeached as attorney general. He got him the nomination to be senator of Texas. Without, Trump, he's nothing. He's nothing. And this guy is so stupid. He's biting the hand that made him,” McHenry said. “… But Ken Paxton is so stupid that he's biting the hand that made him and invented him. He should say, with enormous gratitude, that he's grateful for the president making fun of the way he looks and the way he dresses, as he should, because he wouldn't be even considered for that in this stage of the election cycle [without Trump].”

10 hours ago, pacman said:

Who exactly is Adam Hoffman? I can understand that Nate Paul's attorney may have an inside scoop on how to "work" with Ken Paxton but I don't know if I fully see the connection. Is Hoffman wealthy, or is Hoffman important to Nate Paul?

I'm working on a standpoint that Nate Paul knows things about Paxton that Paxton wants quiet.

He just has the right lawyer...to allow him to sexually abuse a young child and have Paxton get him a light sentence

Edited October 1Oct 1 by pacman

14 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Who exactly is Adam Hoffman? I can understand that Nate Paul's attorney may have an inside scoop on how to "work" with Ken Paxton but I don't know if I fully see the connection. Is Hoffman wealthy, or is Hoffman important to Nate Paul?

I'm working on a standpoint that Nate Paul knows things about Paxton that Paxton wants quiet.

Well, the first thing to know is that he was an attorney in McLennan County and that fact caused the McLennan County DA to recuse.

Normally, the District Attorney for a non-conflicted nearby county/district, like Hill or Bell County or whatever, would step in to prosecute.

Paxton has been trying to exercise more criminal jurisdiction, which the Texas AG typically has not done. So they jumped in, instead.

I don't think he has very good prosecutors in his office. And yeah, it looks like that Morris guy has some extra stroke with Paxton.

Pretty good story on it. https://www.kwtx.com/2026/05/25/former-waco-attorney-adam-hoffman-released-early-jail/

Edited October 1Oct 1 by TwiceHorn

• 
• Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Trump campaigns for Ken Paxton in Texas: "He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest. Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. I didn't even know if he was here! I don't care."

• 9:54 PM · Oct 1, 2026

“I don’t care.” Fucking lulz.

Oh, Ken. I forgot you were there. You may go now.

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

"I'll tell you what... We have to win this election. That convention, you were there. That convention was a tremendous success," the president eventually said before claiming the convention drew 107 million views compared with 24 million for an NFL broadcast airing against it.

"In other words, we beat the NFL by four times," he insisted.

Another example, just like the Schmitt shit, where the dummys who fancy and crow about themselves being Alpha Males full of testosterone, have no clue about sports.

No reasonable person who watches sports would ever for a second believe he outdrew the NFL. It's beyond whimsical, yet here come the maga alphas.

Imagine be a man a self-respecting individual and just taking that. What a fucking pussy.

Edited October 2Oct 2 by dcbc

2 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

• 
• Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com

Trump campaigns for Ken Paxton in Texas: "He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest. Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. I didn't even know if he was here! I don't care."

• 9:54 PM · Oct 1, 2026

Quite the endorsement

I sat next to Dade for the last 3 hours at a black tie fundraiser for a worthy nonprofit. We discussed a lot of topics, but not this one.

The NFL ratings crushed that fucking Republican bullshit. Was not even close.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — 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 at least $25,000.

The trip reflected a transformation that has unfolded over Paxton’s 11 tumultuous years as Texas’ top law enforcement official: His focus has increasingly extended beyond state lines. As he steadily built a national political profile and became a star in President Donald Trump’s MAGA universe, Paxton traveled frequently and spent less time in Texas, according to an Associated Press review of state and campaign records.

Since assuming office in 2015, Paxton left about 730 workdays blank on his official calendars and took over 275 out-of-state trips to places such as the California wine country, Caribbean resorts and European tourism hot spots. The travel cost Texas taxpayers a minimum of $1.9 million to cover expenses charged by his security detail, records show. It is unclear how Paxton has financed much of his portion of the travel.

The pattern became more pronounced as Paxton became a ubiquitous presence in conservative media and filed a stream of partisan lawsuits to oppose Democratic President Joe Biden’s agenda, endearing himself to Trump. Early in his tenure, his official calendars were packed with job-related duties. In 2021, more than 90 workdays were blank — a number that reached 112 in 2024, the last full year the AP had records for.

Texas does not require the attorney general to report his day-to-day whereabouts, and other state records do not often reveal the length or purpose of the out-of-state travel. Texas, however, keeps records for the monthly expenses incurred by his security detail. Those records show reimbursements for travel outside Texas spiked from about $30,000 in 2015 to nearly $400,000 in 2024.

“There is clearly a pattern of behavior here that may make some voters question how seriously Ken Paxton has taken the job,” said Joshua Blank, the director of research for the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin. “At the same time, Ken Paxton has been accused of a lot of things and those accusations have not hurt him in any significant way yet.”

Paxton’s travel has been an issue in campaign

Paxton’s record as attorney general and his travel have become an issue in the Senate campaign, a race that could prove pivotal in deciding party control of the chamber.

His Democratic opponent in the November election, James Talarico, criticized Paxton for spending July 4 in Great Britain and accused him of focusing more on his standing in Trump’s political movement than on issues facing Texans. In a recent social media post, Talarico chided Paxton for misspelling the name of a Texas town. “It’s Cypress, not ‘Cyprus,’” Talarico wrote on Sept. 20. “But for all the time you spend on luxury vacations in Europe, it’s no surprise you don’t know Texas.”

The travel has also served as an uncomfortable reminder of Paxton’s complicated personal life.

Last year, his primary opponent, Sen. John Cornyn, posted a photo online of Paxton attending the 2024 Kentucky Derby with a group that included a woman who he has since been spotted traveling alone with.

“Quite the unforgettable day for Crooked Ken and Tracy Duhon!” Cornyn wrote, adding, “If you know you know.”

Numerous publications have reported that Paxton and Duhon, a Christian influencer and author, have an alleged romantic relationship, though both have declined to publicly address the matter.

Paxton’s wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, filed for divorce last year on “biblical grounds” and accused the attorney general of infidelity. Duhon, who was not named in the Paxtons’ divorce filings, did not respond to a request for comment.

Paxton’s campaign would not make him available for an interview and declined to comment for this story. Madison Cercy, a Paxton spokeswoman, directed all questions to the Texas Attorney General’s office, which did not directly respond to a detailed list of questions about Paxton’s travel, including how he pays for it.

In an unsigned statement, Paxton’s office said that calendar entries do not “capture someone’s full workday, including hours of calls, negotiations, case strategy, and briefings with his team that fill every day.”

Paxton’s office said he has helped secure large legal settlements from drugmakers and tech companies, which requires routine travel. His office added that Paxton, like other high-profile state officials, travels with a security detail because he faces threats “stemming from his courageous work … fighting on behalf of the people of Texas.”

“Attorney General Paxton leads an agency of more than 4,000 employees and is briefed daily on the most pressing matters across the office,” the statement reads. “His schedule is built to be immediately responsive to the most pressing issues in order to best serve Texans.”

Paxton has been an ‘activist’ attorney general

Since taking office more than a decade ago, the former state lawmaker and probate lawyer has been under a cloud of scrutiny. Paxton was investigated by the FBI but never charged. Without admitting guilt, he paid restitution to settle a felony securities fraud case brought by state prosecutors. And he was impeached — but later acquitted — by fellow Republicans on accusations of abusing his office and accepting bribes.

He has survived politically thanks to a deep well of support from his Christian conservative base and a close affiliation with Trump. He cemented the bond early in his tenure by turning his office into an operating base for the conservative movement and pursuing litigation to further its goals.

Paxton, for example, spearheaded a failed effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss to Biden. After Biden took office, Paxton sued the Democratic administration more than 100 times, a feat he has boasted about on the campaign trail.

Paxton did not invent the “activist” model for attorneys general but marshaled it in a way that enhanced his political brand, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston.

“The culture war litigation became a central function of his office rather than a peripheral one,” said Rottinghaus. Paxton, he added, “learned that litigation itself generated political capital.”

Tom Phillips, a former Republican chief justice on the Texas Supreme Court, said Paxton’s politicization of the office was a factor in his decision to endorse the Democratic candidate, state Sen. Nathan Johnson, in the race to succeed him as attorney general. “The office of attorney general should be conducted in a nonpartisan fashion. Not to advance their own political agenda,” said Phillips.

The rise of a MAGA star

Paxton’s evolution into a national political figure can be seen in his official calendars, according to records. Early in his tenure, his schedule was packed with the typical duties of a state attorney general.

For example, during his first year in office, he routinely met with state lawmakers, greeted constituents, delivered speeches and huddled with deputies for strategy meetings.

Over the last five years, the calendars contained few listings of such activities, appearing to confirm what two former deputies told impeachment investigators in 2023: He often skipped meetings and was indifferent to many of his job’s day-to-day duties, which were delegated to his top deputies.

“I didn’t have a whole lot of contact with Attorney General Paxton,” Mark Penley, a former deputy attorney general, told impeachment investigators in 2023. “He was gone a lot, he was traveling, he was out.”

Over a two-year period ending in 2024, Paxton flew to the Caribbean, Israel, India, Taiwan, South Africa, made three trips to Europe and hit five different ski towns in the Rockies, including numerous visits to Park City, Utah, among other destinations, records show.

In the summer of 2022, a year in which he was running for reelection, Paxton embarked on a multistop European tour that included visits to Italy, Albania, Greece and Malta, as previously reported by the Dallas Morning News. Paxton also stopped at an Idaho resort town and at Trump’s Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, where he held a fundraiser. His travel that year cost the public roughly $230,000 to reimburse members of his security detail, records show.

While the number of blank days included in Paxton’s calendars trended upward during his tenure, other patterns emerged, too.

In 2022, for example, Paxton’s calendar contained just 79 blank days, but included 96 days in which the only listed activities were interviews he scheduled with conservative media outlets.

The following year his schedule contained more conservative media interviews — 122 — than the 98 events related to the day-to-day operations of his office, records show.

Visiting the Golden State

Texas conservatives, including Paxton, have treated California as a punching bag. “Don’t California My Texas” is a favorite phrase of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses it as a pejorative shorthand for the liberal values commonly associated with the west coast state.

Paxton recently took a swipe at the state while attacking his November opponent. “California already has two senators. It doesn’t need a third. But that’s exactly what James Talarico would be,” Paxton said last month when Republicans gathered in Texas for a midterm election summit convened by Trump.

That kind of disdain has not stopped Paxton from spending time in California, where he spent a portion of his youth. Records show Paxton has taken over 25 trips to the state, costing Texas taxpayers over $175,000.

“I like places in California, even though I don’t like to admit that I go to California. But it’s beautiful,” Paxton said on the “Swimming with the Sharks” podcast last November.

He has shown a particular fondness for Northern California’s wine country, which he visited at least five times, records show.

In 2019, Paxton used $11,000 from his campaign fund to pay for lodging at a boutique Napa Valley hotel, vineyard tours and stops at two wineries, which he described in campaign finance reports as a fundraising expense. The trip cost taxpayers $8,100 in security costs, records show.

Another wine country visit in 2024 cost the public over $14,000, records show. During the trip, Paxton ventured near Yosemite National Park, records show, where his campaign paid for meals, including $436 dropped at Mammoth Rock Restaurant, a French-inspired brasserie that offers “elevated” classics such as escargot and duck confit.

It’s unclear how Paxton has financed most of his jet-setting lifestyle. He tapped his campaign fund to cover expenses in some instances. His Senate campaign and his office did not offer comment on the matter.

Though he was not wealthy when first elected to the legislature in 2002, Paxton’s net worth has soared in recent years. A financial disclosure he recently filed with the Senate indicates he has millions of dollars in assets.

But the documents offer an incomplete picture. As attorney general, Paxton makes about $153,000 a year and has said he is not obligated to disclose assets held in a trust. His net worth has fluctuated in the periodic reports he has filed with the Senate, which give values in ranges but do not provide precise dollar figures. A document filed last year indicated he had substantial debts and may have a negative net worth. A disclosure Paxton filed in August indicated he may be worth more than $20 million, much of it related to his growing real estate portfolio.

Palm Beach regular

Since Trump’s first election in 2016, Paxton could often be found in Washington, visiting more than 31 times. After Trump began plotting his political comeback following his 2020 election loss, Paxton made regular pilgrimages to Palm Beach, home to Trump’s private club, Mar-a-Lago.

In early 2021, when Trump was in political exile for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Paxton played a game of golf with him. That same year Paxton paid nearly $50,000 to hold a fundraiser for himself at Mar-a-Lago and flew into West Palm Beach aboard a private jet, according to campaign finance disclosures.

He’s since made 11 more visits to the area, records show, in addition to 28 other visits to Florida cities, including two stops at Disney World.

___

Slodysko reported from Washington.

BRIAN SLODYSKO

11 hours ago, dcbc said:

Imagine be a man a self-respecting individual and just taking that. What a fucking pussy.

11 hours ago, dcbc said:

Imagine be a man a self-respecting individual and just taking that. What a fucking pussy.

#triggered

@atomheartbevo Whoops beat me to it!

Edited October 2Oct 2 by Dnaguy

Has anyone else noticed that Paxton does not appear in any of his ad buys? Why is that?

5 minutes ago, Satchel said:

Has anyone else noticed that Paxton does not appear in any of his ad buys? Why is that?

Because his face looks like a fucking jackolantern.

23 minutes ago, AbeFroman said:

Because his face looks like a fucking jackolantern.

Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself “Paul McLaren,” a supposed “entrepreneur” living in Plano, Texas.

But there is no “Paul McLaren” residing in Plano, and the address listed on the campaign finance record is for a rented mailbox in a strip mall.

The donor, it turns out, is a Texas businessman whose father was a well-known construction executive who received a pardon from President Donald Trump years after he pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.

Ben Pogue, who said he and his wife made the $250,000 donation to support Paxton, said the name wasn’t “an effort to conceal the source of the donation.”

Pogue said he chose the name because his middle name is “Paul” and he owned a McLaren sports car about a decade ago, adding that the name was part of an “inside joke.” He didn’t explain why he used a rented mailbox.

A spokesperson for Lone Star Liberty PAC also said that the campaign filing should have stated the donation came from the “Paul McLaren Revocable Trust” and will be corrected.

Pogue and his wife, under the “McLaren” moniker, also donated to the Michigan and Georgia Republican parties, Herschel Walker’s failed 2022 Georgia Senate campaign and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign and victory fund, according to FEC records.

A spokesperson for Paxton declined to comment.

The Texas Senate race between Paxton and Democrat James Talarico is becoming one of the most expensive in the state’s history, with AdImpact reporting that overall ad spending by both candidates and groups supporting them is around $153 million.

The extended Pogue family has given $1.5 million to Trump’s political committees since 2019, according to FEC records. They have also donated around $60,000 to Paxton, according to state and federal records. In 2017, Paxton disclosed that Ben Pogue’s father, Paul Pogue, who he called a “family friend,” gave $10,000 to him for “legal defense.”

Paul Pogue, the founder of a construction company from a town where Paxton has long owned a house, pleaded guilty in 2010 to filing a false tax return after he underreported his income by nearly $1.7 million across several years of returns. He avoided prison time and ended up getting three years of probation.

Trump pardoned him in 2020, with the White House saying he had pleaded guilty to protect the 150 employees of his company and that for more than 30 years he had given “significant humanitarian aid to countries around the world.” The White House at the time said that Paxton, among others, had supported the pardon.

Ben Pogue and his wife donated several hundred thousand dollars to Trump’s reelection efforts in 2019, although Paul Pogue didn’t donate to Trump political entities until several years after his pardon.

Paxton has had personal ties to the Pogues going for at least two decades, including serving as their notary when Pogue’s son Brandon bought a new house in the neighborhood.

In 2015, Judy Pogue posted about flying with Paul and her son Brandon to Austin for the swearing in ceremony as Paxton became the state’s attorney general.

“Ken Paxton will be great for Texas,” she wrote.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/02/ken-paxton-donor-super-pac-pogue-01104619

When you're too embarrassed to use your own name to toss him $250,000, well he might be in a little trouble.

3 hours ago, Satchel said:

Has anyone else noticed that Paxton does not appear in any of his ad buys? Why is that?

For a man so repulsive he can’t appear in his own political ads, it really makes you ask the question:

How did he end up getting a side piece?

Oh and the notes I’m taking aren’t for me or anything.

It’s only for posterity purposes

Edited October 2Oct 2 by Dnaguy

51 minutes ago, Dnaguy said:

How did he end up getting a side piece?

Oh and the notes I’m taking aren’t for me or anything.

It’s only for posterity purposes

Be worth tens of millions and have 15 homes and don't try and get some hot 20-something.

1 hour ago, Dnaguy said:

For a man so repulsive he can’t appear in his own political ads, it really makes you ask the question:

How did he end up getting a side piece?

Oh and the notes I’m taking aren’t for me or anything.

It’s only for posterity purposes

Have you seen the side piece?

Uploading Attachment...

4 minutes ago, Disco Strangler said:

Have you seen the side piece?

Uploading Attachment...

Is that her impression of him?

3 hours ago, Updawg said:

Last year, a super PAC supporting Texas Senate hopeful Ken Paxton received a $250,000 donation from a man calling himself “Paul McLaren,” a supposed “entrepreneur” living in Plano, Texas.

But there is no “Paul McLaren” residing in Plano, and the address listed on the campaign finance record is for a rented mailbox in a strip mall.

The donor, it turns out, is a Texas businessman whose father was a well-known construction executive who received a pardon from President Donald Trump years after he pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return.

Ben Pogue, who said he and his wife made the $250,000 donation to support Paxton, said the name wasn’t “an effort to conceal the source of the donation.”

Pogue said he chose the name because his middle name is “Paul” and he owned a McLaren sports car about a decade ago, adding that the name was part of an “inside joke.” He didn’t explain why he used a rented mailbox.

A spokesperson for Lone Star Liberty PAC also said that the campaign filing should have stated the donation came from the “Paul McLaren Revocable Trust” and will be corrected.

Pogue and his wife, under the “McLaren” moniker, also donated to the Michigan and Georgia Republican parties, Herschel Walker’s failed 2022 Georgia Senate campaign and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign and victory fund, according to FEC records.

A spokesperson for Paxton declined to comment.

The Texas Senate race between Paxton and Democrat James Talarico is becoming one of the most expensive in the state’s history, with AdImpact reporting that overall ad spending by both candidates and groups supporting them is around $153 million.

The extended Pogue family has given $1.5 million to Trump’s political committees since 2019, according to FEC records. They have also donated around $60,000 to Paxton, according to state and federal records. In 2017, Paxton disclosed that Ben Pogue’s father, Paul Pogue, who he called a “family friend,” gave $10,000 to him for “legal defense.”

Paul Pogue, the founder of a construction company from a town where Paxton has long owned a house, pleaded guilty in 2010 to filing a false tax return after he underreported his income by nearly $1.7 million across several years of returns. He avoided prison time and ended up getting three years of probation.

Trump pardoned him in 2020, with the White House saying he had pleaded guilty to protect the 150 employees of his company and that for more than 30 years he had given “significant humanitarian aid to countries around the world.” The White House at the time said that Paxton, among others, had supported the pardon.

Ben Pogue and his wife donated several hundred thousand dollars to Trump’s reelection efforts in 2019, although Paul Pogue didn’t donate to Trump political entities until several years after his pardon.

Paxton has had personal ties to the Pogues going for at least two decades, including serving as their notary when Pogue’s son Brandon bought a new house in the neighborhood.

In 2015, Judy Pogue posted about flying with Paul and her son Brandon to Austin for the swearing in ceremony as Paxton became the state’s attorney general.

“Ken Paxton will be great for Texas,” she wrote.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/10/02/ken-paxton-donor-super-pac-pogue-01104619

"Old" Collin County is just full of sleazebags.

2 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Be worth tens of millions and have 15 homes and don't try and get some hot 20-something.

Well all except the obvious 20 something 11 smoke show.

Man I’m really close on this one.

/surly

Edited October 3Oct 3 by Dnaguy

isn't pogue the aggy that fucked up high school stadiums across north texas?

2 hours ago, elfenix said:

isn't pogue the aggy that fucked up high school stadiums across north texas?

Was about to, and am doing so now, post that they are the Aggies that built the Allen football stadium disaster

Even SNL mocks his eye

• 
• Will Steakin @wsteaks

NEW in @playbookdc: Ken Paxton in leaked audio vents over his campaign being run by DC:

“I don’t control message or what we’re doing”

“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign…it’s all coming — you know — from DC”

• 11:46 AM · Oct 5, 2026

Month away from seeing this droopy eyed SOB from losing to Talarico.

LFG

28 minutes ago, Pancho said:

• 
• Will Steakin @wsteaks

NEW in @playbookdc: Ken Paxton in leaked audio vents over his campaign being run by DC:

“I don’t control message or what we’re doing”

“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign…it’s all coming — you know — from DC”

• 11:46 AM · Oct 5, 2026

What I love the most about this, is somebody (or multiple somebodies) who is a BMD or somehow close to Paxton for other reasons (staffer, friend), is recording and then leaking incredibly sensitive audio to the outlets.

That cross-eyed sonuvabitch can't trust anybody around him.

I love how he says super pacs are the only reason he has a chance of being elected and that these super pacs are also destroying that chance. So like um…what?

Let's just say Ken Paxton has a sense of entitlement. If her doesn't win, it was everybody else's fault.