Story perspectives

Paxton’s Out-of-State Travel Costs Texas Taxpayers $1.9M

By Drooid · Oct 1, 2026, 2:26 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate nominee, addressed voters at an El Paso rally on Sept. 30, 2026.
State records show Paxton’s out-of-state travel has cost Texas taxpayers at least $1.9 million.
Calendars reveal 730 blank workdays and more than 275 out-of-state trips since he took office.
A recording obtained by The New York Times captures Paxton saying the Trump-led convention lowered his poll numbers.

History

Historical Context

Texas’s recurring travel-expense scandals echo the 1994 Attorney General election—the last Democratic win, occurring during Dan Morales’s tenure, when he secured a $17 billion tobacco settlement. The 2026 revelations about Ken Paxton’s out-of-state trips have spurred the Legislature to draft tighter audit rules, reflecting a ongoing decades-long pattern of statewide fiscal oversight battles.

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Story summary

Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General and U.S. Senate nominee, addressed voters at an El Paso rally on Sept. 30, 2026.
State records show Paxton’s out-of-state travel has cost Texas taxpayers at least $1.9 million.
Calendars reveal 730 blank workdays and more than 275 out-of-state trips since he took office.
A recording obtained by The New York Times captures Paxton saying the Trump-led convention lowered his poll numbers.

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