AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Three years ago, criminal charges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appeared to stump his political future.

  • Accused of duping investors, faces five to 99 years
  • Trial repeatedly postponed
  • Trumo voices support

He is still under indictment, having pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of securities fraud. Despite this, the Republican is favored to win a second term in November. His wife is on the cusp of becoming a state senator and President Donald Trump singled him out as doing a “great job” at a recent midterm rally in Houston.

“You have an attorney general who doesn’t stop. He’s tough. He’s smart. He collects more money for this state, Ken Paxton. You’re doing a great job, Ken,” Trump said at a rally Monday.

Although he is not the only incumbent running under indictment this year, Paxton has approached Election Day having regained his footing within the GOP. His Democratic opponent, Justin Nelson, is doing all he can to tell voters that Texas’ top law enforcement officer still faces a felony trial.

Paxton has laid low in his campaign, sticking mostly to Republican-friendly events and staying clear of the media.

Paxton is accused of duping wealthy investors in a high-tech startup in 2011, four years before being elected attorney general. Prosecutors say he pressured investors, including friends and a Texas lawmaker, to put their money into a data storage company called Servergy while failing to disclose that he was being paid by the company. Paxton’s attorneys argue that he was under no obligation to do so, and a federal judge last year dismissed a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that was nearly identical to the criminal case.

If convicted, Paxton faces five to 99 years in prison.

His trial has been repeatedly postponed, and the case has been frozen for nearly a year over a Paxton ally filing a lawsuit claiming that special prosecutors are getting paid too much.

“Frankly, there’s a lot of folks who believe that the charges are not legitimate. Whether that’s true or not, it’s what people believe,” Republican Jerry Patterson, a former Texas lawmaker and state commissioner, said.

Nelson, a political newcomer and former clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, called it his main challenge.

“People don’t know oftentimes who Ken Paxton is or that he’s indicted for fraud,” Nelson said. “That’s my biggest issue in the race.”