Houston attorney Dan Cogdell, who represented Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for nearly a decade and served on his impeachment defense team, said Monday he is backing Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico over his former client, calling Paxton too focused on appeasing President Donald Trump.
Cogdell, a registered Democrat who said he has given more campaign contributions over the years to Republican candidates than Democrats, described himself as a moderate. He said his personal regard for Paxton remains intact, but his political judgment has shifted.
“I worked my ass off for the man for nine years,” Cogdell told the Associated Press. “But that’s a different inquiry. My obligation to Ken ended at the courthouse steps and my obligation as a citizen is to do what I think is the right thing.”
Cogdell said Texas needs substantial work on education and healthcare, and that Paxton’s focus on Trump was a disqualifying factor.
“To simply bootlick or rubber stamp Trump, that’s not what we need in DC right now,” he said.
Cogdell also discussed his endorsement at length on his podcast, where he recently interviewed Talarico.
The endorsement adds a notable voice to a central attack line of Talarico’s campaign: that Paxton’s legal history and his ties to Trump make him unsuited for the Senate. Paxton faced accusations of corruption and securities fraud for years, and was impeached by the Texas House in 2023 on charges including bribery and obstruction of justice. The state Senate acquitted him in September 2023 after a trial.
An aide to Paxton’s campaign responded by noting Cogdell’s party registration, calling the endorsement unsurprising. Tony Buzbee, the lead defense attorney in Paxton’s impeachment trial, wrote on X that he was supporting Paxton in the race.
Talarico, a state representative from Round Rock, won the Democratic nomination in March and has given Democrats hope of flipping the Senate seat in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years. The race is one of a handful of competitive contests as Democrats seek to regain control of the Senate in the November election.
Paxton defeated incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP runoff in May after receiving Trump’s endorsement in the final days of the race. His campaign has emphasized Trump’s backing and a hardline conservative platform.