A Texas lawyer who helped lead Republican Ken Paxton’s defense during his 2023 impeachment trial is endorsing Democrat James Talarico in the state’s critical Senate race this November.

Dan Cogdell, a Houston-based defense lawyer who represented the Texas attorney general in both the impeachment trial and a long-running securities fraud case, told NOTUS in a statement that his former client “has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.”

“And unlike Ken, I believe to my core that James Talarico believes in unity over division and that he knows how to assemble not only Democrats, but Independents and Republicans, and we need that right now,” Cogdell said.

Cogdell has donated a total of $6,500 to Paxton’s campaign last year and then gave $1,000 to Talarico’s campaign in March, according to campaign finance reports. His endorsement of Talarico comes just after the third anniversary of Paxton’s impeachment by the Texas House of Representatives over allegations including bribery.

The Paxton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite representing one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent political allies, Cogdell has broken with his party and criticized the president publicly in recent years. The longtime Paxton confidant last year called Trump the “greatest threat to Democracy our country’s ever seen.” Cogdell’s comments were used in a now-deleted attack ad against Paxton released by the National Republican Senatorial Committee in September. The ad called Cogdell “a liberal Trump-hating trial lawyer.”

Now Senate Republican leaders have fallen in line with Paxton after he defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a primary runoff last month. The Paxton-Cornyn clash split the GOP, with Republican leaders backing Cornyn and Trump allies supporting Paxton. Trump ultimately endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff.

Talarico, the 37-year-old state lawmaker who has impressed Democrats in Washington with his campaign and fundraising prowess, welcomed the Cogdell endorsement, and appealed directly to GOP voters who may not be willing to support Paxton.

“If you voted for John Cornyn, you have a place in this campaign,” Talarico said in a statement. “If you’re a Republican tired of the corruption you’re seeing in government, you have a place in this campaign. Even if you’re Ken Paxton’s impeachment lawyer, you have a place in this campaign.”

During the GOP primary, Cornyn allies stressed that Paxton was probably a riskier candidate to run against the Democratic nominee in the general election, given his history of criminal charges and personal controversies. They argued that the party may have to spend over $100 million in Texas with Paxton as the candidate to prevent Democrats from flipping the seat.