Angela Paxton

Angela Paxton

Republican Party

Texas State Senate District 8

Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

6

Predecessor

Van Taylor

Compensation

Base salary

$7,200/year

Per diem

$221/day

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Contact

Official website

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Angela Paxton (Republican Party) is a member of the Texas State Senate, representing District 8. She assumed office on January 8, 2019. Her current term ends on January 9, 2029.

Paxton (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Texas State Senate to represent District 8. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Paxton was assigned to the following committees:

• Committee of the Whole Senate
• Education Committee
• Finance Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Nominations Committee
• Senate State Affairs Committee, Vice Chair

2021-2022

Paxton was assigned to the following committees:

• Business & Commerce Committee
• Education Committee
• Senate Higher Education Committee
• Local Government Committee
• Nominations Committee, Vice chair

2019-2020

Paxton was assigned to the following committees:

• Business & Commerce Committee
• Education Committee
• Natural Resources and Economic Development Committee
• Property Tax Committee, Vice-Chair

Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2024

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 8

Incumbent Angela Paxton defeated Rachel Mello in the general election for Texas State Senate District 8 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton (R)	59.4	269,743
		Rachel Mello (D)	40.6	184,642

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 454,385
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ed Kless (L)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Rachel Mello advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rachel Mello	100.0	23,078

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,078
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Incumbent Angela Paxton advanced from the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton	100.0	68,007

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 68,007
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 8

Ed Kless advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 23, 2024.

		Candidate
✔		Ed Kless (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Paxton in this election.

2022

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 8

Incumbent Angela Paxton defeated Jon Cocks and Ed Kless in the general election for Texas State Senate District 8 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton (R)	57.7	187,754
		Jon Cocks (D)	39.5	128,399
		Ed Kless (L)	2.9	9,293

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 325,446
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Jon Cocks advanced from the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jon Cocks	100.0	24,775

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 24,775
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Incumbent Angela Paxton defeated Matt Rostami in the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 1, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton	65.2	46,355
		Matt Rostami	34.8	24,794

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,149
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 8

Ed Kless advanced from the Libertarian convention for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 19, 2022.

		Candidate
✔		Ed Kless (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Carl Jameson (L)

2018

See also: Texas State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Texas State Senate District 8

Angela Paxton defeated Mark Phariss in the general election for Texas State Senate District 8 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton (R)	51.2	169,995
		Mark Phariss (D)	48.8	162,157

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 332,152
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Mark Phariss defeated Brian Chaput in the Democratic primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Phariss	50.9	16,689
		Brian Chaput	49.1	16,094

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,783
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8

Angela Paxton defeated Phillip Huffines in the Republican primary for Texas State Senate District 8 on March 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Angela Paxton	54.4	32,653
		Phillip Huffines	45.6	27,421

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 60,074
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Overview of 2018 Republican primaries

See also: Factions in Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018 and Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018

The 2018 Texas state legislative Republican primaries featured conflict between two factions. One group was opposed to House Speaker Joe Straus (R) and his preferred policies on issues like education financing and property taxes. The anti-Straus wing included members of the Texas Freedom Caucus and organizations such as Empower Texans and Texas Right to Life. The other group was supportive of Straus and his policy priorities. The pro-Straus wing included incumbent legislators allied with Straus and organizations such as the Associated Republicans of Texas and the Texas Association of Business. To learn more about these factions and the conflict between them, visit our page on factional conflict among Texas Republicans.

The primaries occurred on March 6, 2018, with runoffs on May 22, 2018. There were 48 contested state legislative Republican primaries, outnumbering contested primaries in 2016 (43) and 2014 (44). To see our full coverage of the state legislative Republican primaries, including who key influencers were backing and what the primaries meant for the 2019 House speaker's race, visit our primary coverage page.

The charts below outline the March 6 primary races for the state Senate and the state House. They show how the factions performed on election night.

Texas Senate Republicans
Party		Before March 6 primaries	After March 6 primaries
	Pro-Straus	2	1
	Anti-Straus	1	3
	Unknown	3	3
	Open seats	1	-
	Runoffs	-	-
	Too close to call	-	-
Total		7	7

Texas House Republicans
Party		Before March 6 primaries	After March 6 primaries
	Pro-Straus	20	20
	Anti-Straus	4	9
	Unknown	2	5
	Open seats	15	-
	Runoffs	-	7
	Too close to call	-	-
Total		41	41

Primary we watched

See also: Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018/Races to watch

This primary was one of 48 we tracked for the March 6 elections. Did the incumbent file to run for re-election?

No.

What made this a race to watch?

The Dallas Morning News identified this Republican primary as competitive. It was an open seat contested by Angela Paxton, the wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R), and Phillip Huffines, the brother of state Sen. Donald Huffines (R) and the Dallas County Republican Party chairman. An issue in the campaign was the candidates' campaign finance history. Paxton emphasized Huffines' past donations to Democrats (he said he gave to them because they agreed with Texans for Lawsuit Reform on some policies), while Huffines has said some of Paxton's donations were linked to former state Sen. John Carona (R), who his brother Donald defeated in a 2014 Republican primary. On February 13, Paxton released a campaign ad emphasizing Huffines' donations to Democrats. Huffines' campaign released a campaign flyer saying that Paxton did not support term limits for politicians, that her campaign was linked to lobbyists, and that she and her husband had increased their personal wealth during their time in politics. In response, Paxton's campaign manager wrote on Facebook that Huffines was engaging in "politics of personal destruction" and that "[it's] clear for anyone to see that his naked political ambition knows no bounds, that there is no line he won't cross." After Huffines released an ad that claimed Angela and Ken Paxton had used public office to enrich themselves, Ken Paxton released a statement that said, "Phillip Huffines’ negative and untruthful attack is disappointing because he gave his word he would run a clean campaign." On February 6, the Texas Tribune reported that Attorney General Paxton's campaign was guaranteeing a $2 million loan to his wife's campaign. The Tribune also reported that Huffines had loaned himself millions of dollars and fives times more cash on hand than Paxton prior to the loan. On March 1, Ken Paxton disclosed a $500,000 loan to his wife's campaign. According to KERA News, the race was the most expensive state legislative contest in Texas. In its endorsement of Paxton's campaign, the Dallas Morning News said, "On the issues, the differences between first-time candidates Angela Paxton and Phillip Huffines are razor-thin. Both are staunch social and fiscal conservatives who are spending big bucks to woo essentially the same far-right Republican primary voters in the conservative state Senate District 8." The editorial board said that it endorsed Paxton over Huffines due to her background in education. On February 20, Paxton's campaign released an internal poll showing her with a 47 percent to 32 percent lead over Huffines. The polling memo said, "While Huffines may recover a little from being staggered and the race may tighten heading into Election Day, the political winds are clearly at Paxton’s back." Endorsements and support for Huffines Texas Right to Life State Rep. Jonathan Stickland State Rep. Briscoe Cain State Rep. Matt Rinaldi U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) held a rally for Huffines on February 23. Endorsements and support for Paxton Texas Association of Realtors Texas Association of Business Dallas Morning News State Rep. Jeff Leach State Rep. Matt Shaheen State Rep. Matt Krause Congressman Sam Johnson (R-Texas) Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Penn.) appeared at a fundraiser for Paxton on February 21. Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney State Sen. Brian Birdwell (R) said that Paxton's "grace and courage in withstanding an onslaught of false, withering personal attacks only underscore the respect we have for her and the esteem in which we hold her."

Debates

Texas Tribune split interview

"Split Decision: Republicans Phillip Huffines and Angela Paxton," released March 2, 2018

Campaign advertisements

Phillip Huffines - support

"Trump & Huffines: Outsiders," released March 2, 2018

"Highway Robbery," released February 26, 2018

"Eliminate the "frees," released February 3, 2018

"Two Brothers," released September 8, 2017

Phillip Huffines - oppose

"Why is Phillip Huffines running a negative campaign?" released February 14, 2018

• On February 23, Paxton's campaign released this ad accusing Huffines of not paying taxes and attempting to influence an election in order to raise tax revenue for a development he was working on.

Angela Paxton - support

"We're the air with our third TV ad!" released February 16, 2018

"Secure our borders," released February 6, 2018

"Where I Stand," released January 29, 2018

Angela Paxton - oppose

"Public Service Pays Surprisingly Well... for Angela Paxton," released February 13, 2018

"Behind the smile...," released February 19, 2018

"Call Attacking Paxtons," released March 1, 2018

Campaign finance

See also: Texas state legislative Republican primaries, 2018/Campaign finance

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Angela Paxton did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Angela Paxton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Paxton's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Angela PaxtonI and I am running for re-election as your Texas State Senator for Senate District 8 because I want to continue to be a strong, thoughtful voice for our children. I believe every child is unique and deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. As a former teacher, school counselor, and the first person in my family to graduate from college, I know the importance of a strong education. As a mom, I know the duty and desire to protect your children from harm. As your Senator, I promise to always keep those instincts at the forefront of my mind.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• PROPERTY TAXES: I have been, and will continue to be, a driving force in the efforts to lower our property taxes. In 2019, I authored legislation to provide property tax system reform to prevent future increases in property taxes without local voter approval, and I voted to reduce school district property taxes statewide. Furthermore, in 2021, I voted to reduce property taxes again and I voted to increase the homestead exemption.
• OUR BORDER: There is a true crisis at our border. Children are entering our country only to be whisked away in vans in the middle of the night by our federal government or to be left in the hands of human traffickers. Drugs, disease, and dangerous criminals create increased risk to the safety of our children. We cannot allow the current border policies to continue to put children, law enforcement, and all Texans at risk.
• EDUCATION: Every child deserves the opportunity to reach their full potential. As a former teacher, school counselor, and the first person in my family to graduate from college, I know the importance of a strong education. As your Senator, I will fight every single day for our Texas students because they deserve the very best that we have to offer.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My top three priorities are education, safety, and the economy. Education must be a top priority because our Texas students deserve the very best. Safety must always be at the forefront of our discussions, including in schools, at the border, and regarding human life. The economy affects us all, from gas prices to property taxes. I aim to ensure the people of Senate District 8 have a voice and that their needs are always effectively addressed.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Angela Paxton campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Texas State Senate District 8	Won general	$0	$0
2024*	Texas State Senate District 8	Won general	$865,613	$472,648
2022	Texas State Senate District 8	Won general	$2,726,235	$895,846
2018	Texas State Senate District 8	Won general	$7,053,623	N/A**
Grand total			$10,645,470	$1,368,493
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Texas

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Texas scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].
In 2024, the Texas State Legislature was not in session.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Texas State Legislature was in session from January 10 to May 29. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Legislators are scored based by the organization on their votes on bills relating to "core budget and free enterprise issues." Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills relating to taxes and property rights. Texas Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. Texas Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Texas Values Action Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues. The Institute for Legislative Analysis Legislators are scored on their adherence to the limited government principles of the U.S. Constitution.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].
In 2022, the Texas State Legislature was not in session.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Texas State Legislature was in session from January 12 to May 31. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Equality Texas Legislators are scored on bills related to LGBT issues. National Federation of Independent Business in Texas Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility Legislators are scored based by the organization on their votes on bills relating to "core budget and free enterprise issues." Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills relating to taxes and property rights. Texas Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. Texas Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues. Texas Values Action Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].
In 2020, the Texas State Legislature was not in session.

2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].

In 2019, the Texas State Legislature was in its 86th legislative session from January 8 through May 27. Club for Growth Foundation Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues. Empower Texans Legislators are scored based by the organization on their votes on bills relating to "core budget and free enterprise issues." Environment Texas Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and public health issues. Equality Texas Legislators are scored on bills related to LGBT issues. Texans Uniting for Reform & Freedom Legislators are scored based on their votes on bills relating to taxes and property rights. Texas Eagle Forum: House and Senate Legislators are scored based on votes relating to conservative issues. Texas Right to Life Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues. Texas Values Action Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Van Taylor (R)	Texas State Senate District 8 2019-Present	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Texas State Senate

Leadership

Senators

District 1

Bryan Hughes (R)

District 2

Bob Hall (R)

District 3

Robert Nichols (R)

District 4

Brandon Creighton (R)

District 5

Charles Schwertner (R)

District 6

Carol Alvarado (D)

District 7

Paul Bettencourt (R)

District 8

Angela Paxton (R)

District 9

Vacant

District 10

Phil King (R)

District 11

Mayes Middleton (R)

District 12

Tan Parker (R)

District 13

Borris Miles (D)

District 14

Sarah Eckhardt (D)

District 15

Molly Cook (D)

District 16

Nathan Johnson (D)

District 17

Joan Huffman (R)

District 18

Lois Kolkhorst (R)

District 19

Roland Gutierrez (D)

District 20

Juan Hinojosa (D)

District 21

Judith Zaffirini (D)

District 22

Brian Birdwell (R)

District 23

Royce West (D)

District 24

Peter Flores (R)

District 25

Donna Campbell (R)

District 26

José Menéndez (D)

District 27

Adam Hinojosa (R)

District 28

Charles Perry (R)

District 29

César Blanco (D)

District 30

Brent Hagenbuch (R)

District 31

Kevin Sparks (R)

Republican Party (19)

Democratic Party (11)

Vacancies (1)