McKINNEY, Texas – Ken Paxton has spent more than a decade in statewide office, survived impeachment, and is now running for the U.S. Senate with Donald Trump’s endorsement. But the most revealing story about the Texas attorney general isn’t found in a courtroom or a campaign ad. It’s found in the family he built over nearly four decades, and the wife and children who have stood by him through it all.
The Paxton family has become an unavoidable subplot in one of the most heated Republican primaries in the country. With his estranged wife, State Sen. Angela Paxton, filing for divorce on adultery grounds, and his daughter publicly defending his character in the final stretch of the race, the people closest to Ken Paxton have become both his greatest political asset and his most complicated liability.
The Wife: Angela Paxton
Angela Paxton has been by Ken’s side since their days at Baylor University, where they met while he served as student body president. They married in 1986 and built a life together in McKinney, raising four children and becoming fixtures in Collin County Republican politics.
A former math teacher and guidance counselor with more than two decades in education, Angela carved out her own political identity. She won the Texas Senate District 8 seat in 2018 and assumed office in January 2019, representing a swath of North Texas suburbs. She’s served as chair of the Senate Republican Caucus and sits on the budget-writing committee.
For years, Angela was described as Ken’s closest political advisor, often opening his events with musical performances. She stood by him through a securities fraud indictment, an FBI investigation, and a 2023 impeachment trial over allegations he abused his office to help a donor who had hired his mistress. During that trial, she was required to attend but barred from voting on her husband’s fate, sitting in silence for days while witnesses testified about his infidelity.
The Divorce That Changed Everything
In July 2025, Angela filed for divorce after 38 years of marriage. Her petition cited adultery, and she described the decision as being made on biblical grounds.
“I believe marriage is a sacred covenant and I have earnestly pursued reconciliation,” she wrote on X at the time. “But in light of recent discoveries, I do not believe that it honors God or is loving to myself, my children, or Ken to remain in the marriage.”
Ken responded with a statement acknowledging the couple had faced countless political attacks and public scrutiny and asking for privacy as they start a new chapter.
Court records revealed the couple hadn’t been living together since June 2024. The divorce records were initially sealed, but a judge ordered them unsealed in December 2025 after media organizations intervened. The released documents showed the couple had entered mediation and that a blind trust had distributed $20,000 to each of them for attorney fees. Ken’s lawyers said he had always wanted the records unsealed, a claim the Campaign for Accountability called ridiculous.
The Four Children
Ken and Angela share four adult children: Tucker, Abby, Mattie, and Katie.
Tucker works as a software engineer. Abby served as a first lieutenant in the United States Air Force, a detail Angela shared proudly on Facebook in November 2020. Mattie studied education at Texas A&M and is married to Daniel Hayworth; they have four children, including twins born in September 2024. Katie, often referred to as the youngest, studied nursing at Texas A&M and is married to Ryan.
Ken has spoken warmly about his role as a grandfather. During a tele-town hall in August 2026, he deflected a question about infidelity by redirecting to his family: “I’ve got four wonderful kids. I’ve got seven grandchildren, well, six and one on the way.”
Mattie Paxton: The Daughter Who Became a Campaign Surrogate
As Ken’s personal life faced intense scrutiny during the Senate primary, one family member stepped into the political arena in a major way.
Mattie Hayworth published an op-ed in Texas Scorecard defending her father against what she called ugly attacks on his character. “My dad is not perfect; none of us are,” she wrote. “But he is a man of deep faith, genuine love for his family, and an unrelenting commitment to doing right by the people of Texas.”
Her essay was followed by a campaign ad featuring Mattie, her husband Daniel, and their children. “My dad is a really good guy, loves God, he loves his family and he loves this country,” she says in the 30-second spot, which shows her father calling his grandchildren on FaceTime. “A lot of people may call him General Paxton, Ken Paxton, but our kids call him pop-pop.”
The ad was a direct response to attack spots from rival John Cornyn’s campaign, including one that accused Ken of wrecking another home through an alleged affair with a married mother of seven.
A Family Under the Microscope
The Paxtons’ family life has been entangled with Ken’s political career in ways few political families experience. Angela’s decision to file for divorce didn’t just end a marriage; it injected a new layer of controversy into a Senate race already defined by questions about Ken’s ethics and personal conduct.
Notably, Angela declined to endorse her estranged husband in the Republican primary. Instead, she encouraged Texas voters to support Mayes Middleton for attorney general, a subtle but unmistakable signal of her distance from Ken’s campaign.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, which has been openly critical of Ken’s candidacy, weighed in on the divorce. “What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in July 2025. “No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.”
Where the Family Stands Now
Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the May 2026 Republican primary and is now facing Democrat James Talarico in the general election. The divorce case remains in mediation, with Ken’s attorneys saying they expect an amicable resolution soon.
For Angela, the path forward is her own. She remains a sitting state senator, an accomplished legislator with a brand independent of her husband’s. And she has made clear that while her marriage may be over, her political career is not.
For the Paxton children, the 2026 campaign has forced them into an uncomfortable spotlight. They’ve largely avoided public comment, with the exception of Mattie’s defense of her father. Whether that loyalty translates into political benefit for Ken Paxton remains an open question in a race that has already defied conventional expectations.
The Paxton family story is, in many ways, a Texas story: deeply religious, fiercely political, and complicated by the kind of scandals that would end most careers. Ken Paxton has survived them all. Whether his family survives intact is a different question entirely.
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