Ken Paxton
Nationalist
Republican
N/A
Texas
Current Position: Attorney General of Texas
Running For: Senator
Policy Positions
Economic Policy
- Against guaranteed income programs; sued Harris County to block guaranteed income program
Health Care
- Against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare); initiated lawsuit seeking to rule it unconstitutional in its entirety
- Against COVID-19 public health measures; threatened lawsuits against local governments over stay-at-home orders and mask requirements
Environment
- Against environmental regulations; opposed Clean Power Plan, sued Biden administration over carbon emissions requirements and methane emissions tax, sided with ExxonMobil against climate change investigations
Civil Rights
- Against abortion access; supports abortion bans, gave employees paid vacation day to celebrate overturning of Roe v. Wade, sought to block rules requiring hospitals to provide life-saving abortions, threatened to prosecute doctors performing abortions, and sued to block emergency abortions under federal law
- Against LGBT rights; opposed same-sex marriage license issuance, characterized gender-affirming healthcare as child abuse, defended sodomy laws, sued to block transgender bathroom access and foster care protections, sued NCAA over trans women in sports
- For Christian prayer in schools; supported religious scripture displays in schools and encouraged students to recite the Lord's Prayer in classrooms
Voting Rights & Democracy
- For gerrymandering; defended Texas congressional districts against discrimination allegations
- Against voting rights expansions; opposed absentee voting expansion during COVID-19, pursued voter fraud prosecutions disproportionately targeting people of color, and attempted to overturn 2020 presidential election results
Immigration & Foreign Affairs
- Against DACA and DAPA immigration programs; led coalition challenging Obama's deferred action policies and threatened litigation if Trump didn't terminate DACA
- For Trump's border wall and sanctuary city bans; supported eminent domain for border wall construction and filed lawsuit to uphold Texas sanctuary city penalties
Public Safety
- Against cannabis decriminalization; sued six Texas cities to remove decriminalization measures
- For capital punishment; supported executing Robert Roberson
- For gun rights; defended campus carry laws and sued to allow open carry in government buildings