Two separate recordings from one private Washington lunch now sit in the hands of reporters, and both feature Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton describing how little say he has over his own race.
Politico obtained the first set of audio. The New York Times secured the second. Both surfaced within a week of the September 24 event.
A well-known Washington lobbying firm hosted the gathering, and about a dozen donors attended. Paxton, the state’s attorney general, spoke to the group about the way his campaign operates.
“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign,” Paxton said, according to the Politico recording.
Direction, he told the room, flows in from the capital. “I don’t control message or what we’re doing,” he said.
Politico also reported that Paxton raised a related complaint with lobbyists the month before.
At that earlier meeting, he said messaging in a federal race often originates with other people and that candidates must live with it. “I don’t have ability to change anything,” he said.
One person who attended told Politico that Paxton never named President Donald Trump’s team in his remarks. That person said everyone present understood whom he meant.
Paxton adviser Nick Maddux gave a different account. He said the attorney general was “obviously” referring to super PACs, groups that campaigns are barred from coordinating with.
The Times recording captured another remark. Paxton said Trump’s midterm convention in Texas “dropped our numbers.” Maddux rejected the Times report and called it “manipulated nonsense.”
The lunch also included a lighter exchange. A defense contractor executive asked how the campaign’s message lands with “real people” back home, and the question drew chuckles from the table.
Voters have a snapshot of the race. The latest New York Times/Siena poll shows Democrat James Talarico leading Paxton by six points, with fewer than 30 days left before the election.
The outcome carries national stakes. Republicans need the Texas seat to keep their Senate majority.
Paxton reached the general election through a hard-fought primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. He spent months competing for Trump’s endorsement during that contest.
On the primary trail, Paxton portrayed Cornyn as a Washington insider and a RINO.
Asked about the capital’s political establishment, he told voters, according to the Associated Press, “I’m not their person and I’m never going to be their person.”
Resources have not been an issue for Paxton. He holds a significant cash advantage over Talarico, and his campaign announced a $20 million ad buy last month.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s Republican fund has also sent Paxton millions of dollars since early September.
Trump, meanwhile, is traveling to solidly Republican states in an effort to prevent Democrats from winning both the House and the Senate, the Daily Mail reported.
The outlet said the president faces record-low approval ratings and a cost-of-living crisis it linked to the war in Iran.
Election Day in Texas arrives in less than a month.
