Here is the timeline. On June 10, 2026, a wealthy Texas Tech booster wrote a check for $274,300 to a committee raising money for Ken Paxton's run for U.S. Senate. On June 11 — one day later — Paxton's office used the power of the Texas Attorney General to go to bat for that same booster's football team.

That is the kind of thing that is supposed to look bad. Because it is bad.

What happened

Cody Campbell is the chair of the Texas Tech Board of Regents. He is a former Texas Tech lineman who has given at least $25 million to the school's athletics program. When Texas Tech's star quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, got into trouble, Campbell became one of his most public defenders.

Sorsby was in trouble for a reason. The NCAA declared him ineligible after finding he had "placed at least $90,000 in sports bets while attending Texas Tech and playing football at two other universities." Worse, "Sorsby placed bets on his own team while playing at Indiana." Betting on your own games is one of the oldest lines you are not supposed to cross in sports.

Texas Tech wanted to play him anyway. Standing in the way was the Big 12 Conference, which could sanction the school for fielding an ineligible player.

That is where Ken Paxton stepped in. On June 11, Paxton's office sent the Big 12 a letter warning that any move to sanction Texas Tech would be "unlawful" and would expose the conference "to the tune of 'substantially more than $200 million'" in damages. In other words, the top law enforcement officer in Texas threatened to help sue a sports league to protect a booster's football team.

And the day before that letter went out, that booster had just given $274,300 to Paxton Victory, one of Paxton's joint fundraising committees.

The part that should bother you

When asked about the timing, Paxton's campaign said nothing. The Texas Tribune reported that "Paxton's campaign did not respond to a request for comment or to questions about whether Paxton indicated to Campbell that his office would send the letter if he made the donation."

That is the whole question, and Paxton would not touch it. A donor gives a quarter of a million dollars. The next day the Attorney General's office does exactly what the donor wanted. If there is an innocent explanation for that order of events, Paxton had the chance to give it. He didn't.

We have seen this movie before

If a big donor getting special treatment from Ken Paxton's office sounds familiar, that is because it is the exact pattern that got him impeached.

In 2020, eight of Paxton's own senior deputies — conservative lawyers he hired himself — reported him to the FBI for bribery and abuse of office. Their allegation was that Paxton had used the power of the AG's office to benefit his friend and donor, Austin real estate developer Nate Paul. Within weeks, all eight whistleblowers were fired or forced out.

The Texas House found the pattern serious enough to act. In May 2023, it impeached Ken Paxton by a vote of 121 to 23 — more than two-thirds of House Republicans voted to remove him. The articles included bribery, abuse of office, and misuse of public funds. The Texas Senate later acquitted him, but a court still ordered $6.6 million in damages for the fired aides — money Texas taxpayers are on the hook for.

Using his office to reward the people who pay him is not a one-time slip for Paxton. It is how he operates.

Bought and paid for

Paxton's Senate campaign runs on this kind of money. His top individual donor is a Midland oil executive who gave $750,000. His second-biggest is Preserve Texas Inc., a dark money group set up right after he announced his campaign, whose donors are hidden from the public. Another gave $500,000 — a donor whose husband had been pardoned by President Trump earlier in 2025.

Now add Cody Campbell to the list: a regent who wanted his school's quarterback on the field, wrote a huge check, and got the Attorney General of Texas to threaten a lawsuit on the school's behalf 24 hours later.

Paxton wants a promotion to the U.S. Senate. The record shows what he does with power once he has it: he uses it for the people who write the checks, not for the rest of us. A man who treats the Attorney General's office like a favor factory for his donors should not be handed a Senate seat. We deserve better.

Source

Kayla Guo, Texas Tech chair donated $275K to Paxton before he intervened for Sorsby, The Texas Tribune, July 15, 2026. Photo: Shelby Tauber / Nathan Giese, Avalanche-Journal / REUTERS / Antranik Tavitian.