Ken Paxton's estranged wife tells GOP women

You have to hand it to Angela Paxton. Standing in front of a room of conservative women and telling them to vote Republican even if we're mad at them takes a certain kind of grit, especially when the person you're mad at is your own husband. She's asking for patience, not surrender. It's the kind of message the GOP needs to hear right now, even if it's awkward coming from a woman who filed for divorce last July.

Ken Paxton is trailing in the polls, and the divorce has been a gift to his opponents. They want to turn this primary into a soap opera, complete with a wronged wife and a scandal-plagued attorney general. But here's the thing: Angela Paxton didn't bite. She could have taken the well-worn path of the political spouse scorned, aired the dirty laundry, and watched the media lap it up. Instead, she made a calculation that the party's real priority is the November ledger, not one family's strained holiday dinner.

Some will say she's being a martyr, or worse, an enabler. That's the cynical read. But look at what the left does when they're angry: they burn the whole house down, fire the fire department, and then complain about the smoke. We're supposed to be different. We're supposed to hold our noses, grit our teeth, and remember that a Republican holding the AG's office in Texas is a bulwark against the Biden administration's insanity on the border and federal overreach. Is it seamless? No. Is it pretty? Certainly not.

But the fact that Angela Paxton is asking for that vote anyway, while going through her own personal turmoil, is a reminder that voting is an act of duty, not a therapy session. It's a small, human moment of sacrifice on a public stage. We can respect that, even if we're mad at them, too. The alternative is letting the Democrats win by default, and that's a luxury we simply can't afford.