Topline
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said President Donald Trump’s midterm campaign hurt his party in leaked audio obtained by The New York Times—as Republicans have distanced themselves from Trump and his increasingly declining approval rating.
Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton walks through the Republican Midterm Convention at the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas on Thursday, September 10, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Key Facts
Paxton, who is running in a competitive Senate race against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico, said at a fundraiser earlier this month in Washington hosted by two Republican lobbyists, “when we did that convention—it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now? Yeah, not good,” according to the recording.
Paxton was responding to someone who asked, “do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” though it’s unclear who the person was referring to.
The Times did not name the attendee who provided the recording, but said they oppose Paxton’s campaign.
Another unnamed attendee also said they heard Paxton’s criticism of the GOP convention.
A spokesperson for Paxton, Nick Maddux, rejected The Times report in a statement to the paper that said, “this is more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist,” adding that “every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September.”
Polls show no clear pattern that Trump’s midterm campaign either hurt or helped Paxton was either hurt or helped by Trump’s midterm campaign—since the start of the month, every independent poll listed on The New York Times polling tracker shows Talarico leading by a range of 1-6 points, except for one that shows a tie.
Tangent
The last independent poll to show Paxton leading, according to The Times polling tracker, was from Emerson College in August. It showed him with a one-point lead.
What To Watch For
Trump said Tuesday he plans to campaign in Texas this week, part of a 32-day swing ahead of the November elections.
Key Background
Democrats are projected to win control of the House, according to election forecasters, and their chances of winning the Senate have improved in recent months—trends that coincide with a drop in Trump’s approval rating. Some Republicans running in competitive races have distanced themselves from Trump, including multiple candidates who have removed prominent references to Trump on their websites and others who have publicly opposed some of Trump’s signature policies, such as his tariffs and the Iran war. Paxton, however, has stayed close to Trump. At the midterm convention held in Paxton’s home state, he was featured prominently on stage and in the seating chart. “You’ve got to elect Ken Paxton,” Trump said during one of his convention speeches. “He was the greatest attorney general in the history of our country.”
further reading
Byron Donalds Scrubs Trump References On Campaign Website—Latest Republican Distancing Themself (Forbes)
Ken Paxton Beats Sen. John Cornyn In Texas GOP Primary After Trump’s Last-Minute Endorsement (Forbes)
Hottest 2026 Midterm Races—Democrat Sherrod Brown Up 8 Points In Ohio Senate Race (Updated Daily) (Forbes)
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