U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton's former criminal defense attorney has thrown his backing behind Democrat James Talarico in that race, saying his former client "lost sight of his core mission," political news outlet NOTUS reports.

Houston-based attorney Dan Cogdell represented Paxton, Texas' Republican Attorney General, during his 2023 impeachment trial and also in a felony securities fraud case that dragged on for years.

Despite that relationship, Cogdell told NOTUS that Talarico, an Austin-area state rep, is the right choice for Texas.