Ken Paxton has a blunt assessment of fellow Texas Republican Greg Abbott’s reelection campaign — and he’s not exactly thrilled about his own Senate race, either.
In another leaked recording from a private fundraiser, the Texas attorney general and GOP Senate nominee admitted that Abbott is struggling to win reelection while complaining about the “brutal” primary fight that he says has put his own campaign at a disadvantage.
“Yes, Abbott is struggling,” Paxton told donors and lobbyists at a private fundraiser in Washington, D.C., according to audio published by Rolling Stone on Wednesday.
Abbott, who is seeking an unprecedented fourth term as governor, has some significant advantages over his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. Paxton acknowledged that the governor has “a lot” more money and greater name recognition.
Recent polling has shown Abbott holding a narrow lead over Hinojosa.
But Paxton quickly turned the conversation toward his own problems, arguing that Abbott didn’t have to endure the kind of “brutal” primary contest he faced, complete with negative advertising.
Paxton has trailed Democratic Senate opponent James Talarico in a growing number of polls. During the fundraiser, he pointed to several disadvantages weighing on his campaign, including limited time to raise money, negative ads and a “well-funded and well-known” opponent.
In other words, while privately acknowledging that Abbott is struggling, Paxton also wanted donors to understand why his own campaign is facing difficulties.
And he had more bad news for Republicans.
Paxton predicted that the party could lose ground in the Texas Legislature, saying he didn’t see things “getting better.”
“We’re probably going to lose some seats,” he said.
The recording is the latest in a series of leaked clips from the same fundraiser, where Paxton has offered a more candid account of the challenges facing his campaign than he has in public.
In another clip shared by Politico, Paxton blamed several issues associated with President Donald Trump for weighing down his Senate bid, including the war with Iran, higher fuel prices and Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas. He described those factors as a “drag” on his campaign and said the campaign’s problems were “all coming from D.C.”
In a separate recording obtained by The Texas Tribune, Paxton warned that cuts to federal benefit programs could become a “reality,” adding that people would have to “suck it up.”
Paxton has dismissed concerns about the leaks. Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, he said he wasn’t worried about them “at all.”
“Just because they were able to clip a few things doesn’t mean that’s actually what I meant,” he said.
His spokesperson struck a similarly defensive tone in a statement to Rolling Stone, accusing the magazine of “combing through cherry-picked audio from a private fundraiser” and calling the report “nothing more than a partisan hit job.”
“It’s the same tired playbook the left has run against Ken Paxton for years. It hasn’t worked once,” the spokesperson said.
The statement also claimed Republicans across Texas remain united behind Paxton, insisting that selectively clipped audio wouldn’t change that.
But the latest recording adds another revealing piece to the picture: Paxton privately acknowledging Abbott’s reelection struggles, warning that Republicans could lose legislative seats and laying out his own campaign’s disadvantages.
