A state court on Friday ordered records in the divorce of Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas to be sealed, a day after his wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, filed a petition that accused Mr. Paxton of adultery.
The order to seal the records in the case, in the 429th District Court in Collin County, north of Dallas, came after a request from Mrs. Paxton’s lawyer. This means that further details of the high-profile split would not be available to the public in a case that could significantly affect the race for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.
Mr. Paxton, a firebrand conservative who is popular among Republican voters, is challenging Senator John Cornyn in the Republican primary in 2026. Mr. Paxton has been leading in public polling.
In a statement on Thursday, Mrs. Paxton said that she had filed for divorce “on biblical grounds” and “in light of recent discoveries,” suggesting that new events in their relationship had prompted her decision. The divorce petition said that the couple had not been living together since June 2024 and that the grounds for divorce included that Mr. Paxton “has committed adultery.”
Mr. Paxton said the couple’s relationship was strained by the pressures of public life and “countless political attacks” in his own statement on Thursday. He asked for privacy.
The divorce announcement came as a shock in Texas. Mrs. Paxton had remained at her husband’s side through years of criminal investigations, a state court indictment for securities fraud and an impeachment at the State Capitol in which Mr. Paxton was accused of abusing his office by doing favors for a real estate investor who helped him conceal an extramarital affair.
The State Senate, controlled by Republicans, acquitted Mr. Paxton after a two-week trial in 2023. Mrs. Paxton sat through the proceeding but was not permitted to vote on the outcome. Mr. Paxton admitted no wrongdoing in the securities fraud case but settled last year, agreeing to pay restitution and perform community service.
The judge initially assigned to the divorce case, Jill Renfro Willis, recused herself on Thursday. Her husband, Greg Willis, is the local district attorney and a longtime friend of Mr. Paxton. It was not immediately clear who wrote the Friday order or who would be overseeing the case going forward.
Mrs. Paxton’s lawyer, Charla Bradshaw, did not respond to a request for comment on the sealing of the records on Saturday, and neither did Mr. Paxton’s office or campaign.
The divorce could assist Mr. Cornyn in making his argument that the race is a “test of character” and that Mr. Paxton is unfit for the job. Mr. Paxton, who has aligned himself with President Trump for years, backing his challenge to the 2020 election results, has attacked Mr. Cornyn for being insufficiently conservative.
The two men were in Kerrville, Texas, on Friday as Mr. Trump visited the scene of deadly flooding along the Guadalupe River. Both candidates have been seeking an endorsement from Mr. Trump, who has so far stayed out of the race.
J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.
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