Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general and a Republican nominee for Senate, is under fire once again after a video surfaced online that purportedly showed on vacation in London around the Fourth of July holiday.
The video, obtained by The Daily Mail, appears to show Paxton sightseeing in London alongside a woman reported to be Tracy Duhon, a Christian influencer who has been romantically linked to him. He is estranged from his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, who filed for divorce on “biblical grounds.”
James Talarico, the Democratic nominee in the race, commented on the video on X: “Americans celebrated 250 years of independence from Britain this weekend. Ken Paxton spent it with the British.”
The Texas Democratic Party added to the insults, noting, “The last place any patriotic Texan would be the week of America’s historic 250th anniversary is vacationing in England.”
This is the second round of controversy that Paxton has whipped up on his vacation. When he was first spotted getting on a plane to Iceland at the end of June, Talarico noted, “He takes lavish vacations in Iceland while Texans can’t afford the basics.”
In contrast with Paxton, Talarico spent Monday volunteering at a food pantry in Dallas and discussed what he has singled out as the core issue in the race—affordability.
He singled out the national Republican Party’s signature legislation, the infamous “One Big Beautiful Bill,” for its benefits to the uber-wealthy. “[The law] was a transfer of wealth from working people to the richest Americans,” Talarico said.
The most recent polls of the Senate race show the candidates neck-and-neck, turning the reliably Republican state into a possible win for the Democrats.
Paxton is the Republican nominee largely thanks to an endorsement from President Donald Trump in his favor during his primary race against Sen. John Cornyn. Republican insiders had preferred the incumbent senator over Paxton, citing the latter’s considerable vulnerabilities.
Talarico has been on offense, hailing Paxton as symbolic of a culture of scandal and corruption. Now, with a video apparently showing Paxton on a romantic vacation on foreign soil amid America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, “out of touch” can now be added to the case against Trump’s handpicked candidate.
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