Best mugshot ever
Embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing state criminal charges and a federal complaint about his private business affairs, plans to run for re-election.
“Let there be no doubt that at the appropriate time General Paxton will make the official announcement that he fully intends to seek re-election and keep fighting for Texas,” Jordan Berry, a political consultant for Paxton, said in a statement Thursday.
The former state legislator who won the attorney general’s seat in 2014 faces federal and state securities fraud charges stemming from his time as an investment adviser before he took office. He was indicted by a Collin County grand jury last year, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange brought charges against him earlier this month.
But why let any of that get in the way? As I’ve been saying all along, until such time as the power structure, starting with Greg Abbott, turns against him, Paxton has every reason to believe he’ll be as welcome on the ballot in 2018 as he was in 2014. So what if he’s been convicted of felony charges by then? He’ll still be out on bond pending appeal. More importantly, he’ll still be the same all-in sue-the-feds-for-everything culture warrior that got elected in the first place. Republicans put him into office, and Republicans are going to have to do at least some work to take him out, either in a 2018 primary (which I doubt they’ll do) or by not voting for him that November. It would be nice to think that Democrats will have figured out how to get more of their people to come out and vote in an off-year election, but even if they do it’s unlikely to be enough without some loss of GOP voters. Which, again, is what I hope having a convicted felon (or two) on the ballot will provide. So run, Kenny, run. We’re all counting on you. Trail Blazers has more.
Poster boy for crooked politics. Also, I’m ashamed of the State Bar of Texas for letting him tarnish the legal profession.
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