Ken Paxton Leaked Audio Raises Questions About Trump’s Midterm Election Role

Republican Senate nominee and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) faces a difficult campaign just weeks before the midterm elections after leaked audio revealed he privately said President Donald Trump’s midterm convention had hurt his poll numbers.

In an audio recording leaked to The New York Times this week, Paxton can be heard speaking to a group of conservative donors and lobbyists on the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, earlier this month. One person can be heard asking the group if Trump’s presence felt like a “drag.”

“Though, to be honest with you, the numbers–when we did that convention, it dropped our numbers,” Paxton said in the recording. “Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”

In a statement, one adviser on Paxton’s campaign said the recording was “manipulated nonsense” and that Paxton was going to win the Senate seat.

This week, polls show Paxton trails opponent James Talarico (D-TX) by as many as six points. According to a recent CNN poll, Paxton trails all Republicans in net favorability by as many as -17 points.

President Trump himself addressed the controversial leak on Wednesday in the Oval Office, telling reporters he “hadn’t heard” about the comments, but that the convention was successful. This comes after Trump’s super PAC MAGA Inc. donated $100 million to help the Texas nominee.

“The convention was amazing, as you probably know,” he said, adding that other Republican’s numbers were boosted by the event.

But several Republicans have begun distancing themselves from the president as a new campaign strategy. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) did so in an ad denouncing his immigration policies, while Michigan Senate nominee Mike Rogers (R-MI) pushed an ad calling for an end to the war in Iran.

President Trump and Vice President JD Vance paid another visit to the Lone Star State this week.

“We think Ken Paxton is going to be a great senator for the people of Texas,” Vance said during a White House press briefing in May. “But most importantly, a great United States senator who can work on solving the problems that all of us confront as a country together.”