Cornyn requests documents about Paxton’s alleged affair
The Texas Senate race between incumbent Senator John Cornyn and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has intensified amid allegations concerning Paxton’s personal conduct. Cornyn’s campaign has filed a public records request seeking documents to determine if Paxton used taxpayer funds for trips related to an alleged extramarital affair. The request highlights reports that Paxton traveled extensively to meet a woman named Tracy Duhon, with whom he is said to have had an affair since March 2024. This progress brings renewed scrutiny to Paxton, who has previously faced adultery accusations during his 2023 impeachment trial-in which he was acquitted.
Paxton’s former wife, Angela Paxton, filed for divorce in July 2024, shortly after the affair began. Both candidates emphasize their support for former President Donald Trump, who has yet to endorse either. Polling shows a close race between the two Republican candidates as they vie to secure the Senate seat, with recent surveys indicating a tight contest.The public records request and ensuing media coverage mark an escalation in efforts by Cornyn’s campaign to challenge Paxton’s character ahead of the primary election.
Texas Senate race gets ugly with Cornyn document request over Paxton’s alleged affair
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is requesting records of his 2026 opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to determine whether he used taxpayer funds to pay for trips to meet his alleged mistress.
Cornyn’s campaign filed an open records request with Paxton’s office under the Texas Public Information Act for such documents, escalating the feud between the two amid the Texas Senate race. Politico and the Daily Mail reported on the news.
“These records are not only subject to public information law, but relevant to public interest as made clear in a September 12, 2025, Daily Mail article showing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has been traveling ‘across the country and even overseas’ to meet a woman named Tracy Duhon with whom he was having an affair,” the request states.
Paxton has allegedly been seeing Duhon, a married Christian influencer and mother of seven children, since March 2024.
“If Paxton has used official resources to pay for any of these trips, or if the getaways conflicted with responsibilities to the State of Texas, Texans deserve to know,” the filing reads.
The Washington Examiner contacted Cornyn’s office for confirmation of his campaign’s request for records shedding light on Paxton’s personal travel.
With Cornyn’s move, Paxton’s alleged affair is in the public spotlight once again. His former wife, Angela, filed for divorce in July. They stopped living together in June 2024, not long after Paxton is said to have started seeing Duhon.
Paxton faced adultery accusations involving another woman during his 2023 impeachment trial in the Texas Senate. He was acquitted of all 16 impeachment articles alleging corruption and abuse of office. Angela, who is a state senator, did not vote on the outcome of her husband’s case and provided moral support for him despite the allegations.
Meanwhile, Paxton is running to replace Cornyn in the Senate after being the state attorney general for the past decade. First elected to the upper chamber in 2002, Cornyn is looking to hold on to his seat.
Paxton and Cornyn tout their support of President Donald Trump and his administration’s policies on their respective campaign websites. Trump has not offered an endorsement to either, saying he remains undecided for the time being.
“Well, I’ll make up my mind,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last month. “I like them both. The worst situation I have is when I have two people that I get along with, well, I hate it, and they all want the endorsement. … I’d rather not comment on it right now. I like both guys. They’re both friends of mine, and they’re both good and very different.”
Recent polling by Texas Public Opinion Research shows the race between the two remains tight, with Paxton’s 26% support among Republican primary voters compared to Cornyn’s 32% in a head-to-head matchup. By contrast, a separate poll from Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan Public Policy Research and Survey Center showed Paxton in the lead with 44% of the vote to Cornyn’s 39%.
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