Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, has admitted that the GOP's midterm convention in Dallas earlier this month dealt a blow to his campaign's political standing.
In a private audio recording obtained by The New York Times, Paxton told donors and lobbyists at a Washington, D.C. fundraiser that the convention had a negative impact on his polling. "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," Paxton said. The comment came in response to a question about whether he felt "he's a little bit of a drag," though the audio does not clarify who the questioner was referring to.
The Trump-backed Paxton, who ousted incumbent Senator John Cornyn in a bitter primary runoff, is now trailing Democratic challenger James Talarico by two percentage points, according to Decision Desk HQ's polling averages. The race has shifted into toss-up territory, a significant development in a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office in decades.
The Dallas convention, the RNC's first-ever midterm gathering, was meant to energize the base ahead of November. But Paxton's remarks suggest the event may have backfired, at least for his own candidacy. The president used his closing-night speech to offer a double-edged endorsement, saying he doesn't "like the way Ken dresses," "talks," or "looks," but that Paxton is "the greatest" attorney general in the country. "I don't know if he's gonna ever speak to me again, but you know, I don't care as long as he wins," Trump told the Dallas crowd. "I don't have to speak to him. He's gonna vote the way we would vote ... you gotta vote for him."
Paxton, whose tenure as Texas's top prosecutor has been marred by scandal, also addressed the convention, asking the audience for "your prayers" and "your votes." His campaign, however, dismissed the leaked audio as "manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn't exist," according to senior adviser Nick Maddux. The Hill has reached out to Paxton's campaign for additional comment.
The revelation comes as Republicans grapple with how to handle a slate of controversial nominees, a dynamic that has echoes in the party's broader midterm strategy. For Paxton, the convention's impact on his numbers is a fresh headache for a campaign already navigating legal and ethical questions. Texas Democrats were quick to pounce, with spokesperson Ryan Martin saying, "This is embarrassing for the President. Texans know that Paxton is a cheater, who only serves his own corrupt self interests, and now Trump gets to experience it firsthand."
The race between Paxton and Talarico is now a focal point for both national parties, with control of the Senate potentially hanging in the balance. Democrats see an opportunity to flip a seat in a state that has been reliably red, while Republicans are pouring resources into defending it. The convention's aftermath, as Paxton himself concedes, has not helped his cause.
As the general election heats up, Paxton's candidacy remains a test of how far Trump's endorsement can carry a nominee weighed down by controversy. The Dallas convention was supposed to be a show of force, but Paxton's own words suggest it may have been a turning point for the worse.
