Dan Cogdell spent nearly a decade in the courtroom defending Ken Paxton against corruption and securities fraud charges, shepherding the Texas attorney general through an impeachment trial that ended in acquittal. On Monday, Cogdell threw his support behind Paxton's opponent, Democrat James Talarico, in what stands as one of the highest-profile defections in a marquee Senate race.
The Houston attorney's endorsement strikes at a vulnerability in Paxton's candidacy: his legal entanglements have become a centerpiece of Talarico's campaign message. Yet Cogdell's decision rested on different ground entirely. He said Paxton as a politician has become too consumed with currying favor with Donald Trump at the expense of Texas priorities like education and healthcare.
"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 stressed he harbored no personal animosity toward Paxton and believed the Texas legislature acted appropriately in acquitting him during the 2023 impeachment proceedings. The split came down to governance philosophy. Paxton, in Cogdell's view, lacks independence from Trump, and Cogdell said Texas cannot afford a senator whose instinct is simply to "bootlick or rubber stamp Trump."
The endorsement carries particular weight because Cogdell is registered as a Democrat yet describes himself as a political moderate who has historically funneled more campaign money to Republican candidates than Democratic ones. He also appeared recently on his own podcast with Talarico for an extended conversation.
Paxton's campaign dismissed the development swiftly, with an aide characterizing Cogdell as a Democrat and treating the endorsement as inevitable noise. Tony Buzbee, the lead attorney on Paxton's impeachment defense team, amplified that message on social media while reaffirming his own backing of Paxton in the Senate race.
Paxton's path to the Republican nomination proved unconventional. He defeated sitting Senator John Cornyn in a primary runoff last month, powered significantly by Trump's last-minute endorsement. Now Paxton faces Talarico in what Democrats view as a genuine opportunity to flip a statewide Texas seat, a development that would represent a seismic shift in the state's political landscape as the party works to reclaim Senate control nationally.
Author James Rodriguez: "When your own lawyer abandons you for the other side, you've got a problem money and endorsements alone cannot solve."
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