The day before Valentines Day, the hopeful for a state Senate seat broke out the bubbly in a searing campaign ad accusing the attorney general and his wife of enriching themselves from public service.
The negative ad is meant to hurt Angela Paxton’s bid in a contested Republican primary battle for the District 8 state Senate seat in suburban Dallas. The 30-second ad by Republican candidate Phillip Huffines ratchets up criticism of Paxton by associating her with past criticism of her husband, Ken Paxton.
Attorney General Paxton and his wife Angela “didn’t have much” when he won his first election in 2013, read the narrator in the campaign ad released Tuesday. “Just 11 years later, they co-owned 28 companies.”
Their holdings went from $30,000 to $3 million, the ad went on, and the attorney general used $2 million of his campaign donor’s money to help fund Angela’s campaign.
Ken Paxton’s campaign is a guarantor of a $2 million loan to Angela’s campaign. That means if her campaign can’t pay back the loan, the attorney general’s campaign fund is financially responsible.
“Phillip Huffines’ negative and untruthful attack is disappointing because he gave his word he would run a clean campaign,” Ken Paxton said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
Angela’s campaign shot out its own ad this week, accusing him of running a negative campaign and of donating to liberal candidates.
“For months, Phillip Huffines has been running a campaign of half truths and falsehoods seemingly in an effort to mask his donations to liberal Democrats,” said Anthony Holm, a spokesman for Angela Paxton’s campaign.
Huffines, who is related to Dallas Republican and state Sen. Don Huffines, gave $6,660 to Democratic candidates, almost all of it in 2006. He gave $5,000 to then San Antonio state Rep. Robert R. Puente, and $1,500 to Dallas state Rep. Helen Giddings and $150 in 2009 to South Padre Island state Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra.
Asked to comment on the ad accusing Huffines of supporting liberal candidates, his ‘ campaign accused the Paxtons of deflecting on how their wealth has grown since Paton took office.
Article by Andrea Zelinski • View on The Houston Chronicle
