John Cornyn, left, and Ken PaxtonMother Jones illustration; Douglas Christian/Zuma; Bob Daemmrich/Zuma

Ken Paxton’s path to becoming one of the conservative movement’s most powerful lawyers is littered with the sort of obstacles that might have brought a more reputable politician down.

The third-term Texas attorney general is a law enforcement official whose own staff reported him to law enforcement; a former state representative who was later impeached by the state house; a securities broker who admitted to breaking securities law; and a promoter of Biblical values whose wife recently announced she was leaving him over “Biblical” transgressions. His petition to the US Supreme Court to effectively overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election was such a mess that lawyers in the Florida attorney general’s office mocked him in private and the State Bar of Texas tried to impose sanctions. But in a political moment in which Republican officeholders are engaged in endless displays of debasement, Paxton’s shamelessness is his superpower. He is the guy you get when you need someone to go above and beyond what a respectable lawyer would do—the smirking face of lawfare.

Paxton did what he’s always done when power or attention are in the offing: wield the legal system against his opponents.

And this year, he’s seeking a promotion. Polls give the AG

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