Paxton tells donors Washington forces control his Senate campaign

Three polls show Talarico with a small lead over Paxton

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told donors at a September fundraising event that Washington, D.C., forces control his Republican Senate campaign, according to an audio recording obtained by Politico and reported by the Guardian on Monday. Speaking at the private event, Paxton said he had “never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming – you know – from D.C.” He added: “I don’t control message or what we’re doing.”

The disclosure comes as Paxton, the Republican nominee chosen by Trump earlier this year, runs a competitive race against Democratic challenger James Talarico with Election Day roughly a month away. It is the second reported instance in which Paxton has privately expressed concern about outside involvement in his campaign.

An unnamed attendee who spoke to Politico said Paxton never explicitly identified Trump’s team as the outside force, but that his remarks arose during a broader conversation about the national political environment.

In a statement, Paxton’s campaign adviser Nick Maddux said the comments referred to independent expenditure activity, not coordination with any campaign. “Campaigns don’t coordinate with Super Pacs, and that’s obviously what AG Paxton was referring to,” Maddux said. He added that Paxton “is thankful for the support and knows how important Texas is to keeping the majority which is why he’s on the ground every day talking to Texas, raising money, and taking his message directly to the people including with his statewide television buy that started over this past weekend.”

The Guardian’s report follows a New York Times story last week in which Paxton was quoted as saying that the Republican National Convention for the midterms had “dropped” his polling numbers. Asked about the convention’s consequences, Paxton told the Times: “So to be honest with you, the numbers – when we did that convention – it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.” Maddux told the Times that Paxton’s reported comment was “manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”

Trump chose Paxton earlier this year to run as the Republican nominee against Talarico, described by the Guardian as a political newcomer and whom Democrats hope will flip Texas’s longtime Republican Senate seat in next month’s midterm elections. Paxton has been a well-known figure in Texas conservative politics for years but has also been embroiled in a series of personal and political scandals: the Texas House impeached him in 2023 on allegations including bribery and abuse of public trust, though he was later acquitted. His wife, Angela Paxton, divorced him on “biblical grounds” citing adultery, according to the Guardian.

Polls show Paxton and Talarico neck-and-neck, with Talarico holding a small lead over the Texas attorney general. A Fox News survey found Talarico at 51 percent and Paxton at 49 percent among likely voters. A New York Times/Siena College poll found Talarico at 51 percent and Paxton at 45 percent among likely Texas voters. A Marist University poll found Talarico at 50 percent and Paxton at 44 percent among registered voters.

The seat is among those Republicans are working to hold in the November midterms as the party defends its Senate majority.