Key facts
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton admitted his Senate campaign is controlled by outside forces in Washington D.C.
- Paxton stated he felt less control over his campaign due to external influences.
- Paxton's campaign adviser attributed his comments to coordination with Super PACs.
- Polls show Paxton in a close race with Democrat James Talarico, with Talarico holding a slight lead.
- Paxton was impeached in 2023 on allegations including bribery and abuse of public trust, and later acquitted.
Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for a Texas Senate seat, has admitted in private that his campaign is being controlled by outside forces in Washington D.C. Paxton, who is running against Democrat James Talarico, told attendees at a September fundraising event that he felt he had little control over his campaign due to external influences.
"I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming – you know – from D.C.," Paxton said, according to an audio recording obtained by Politico. He added, "I don’t control message or what we’re doing."
An attendee told Politico that Paxton's comments arose during a discussion about the national political environment, though he did not explicitly state he was referring to Donald Trump's team. Paxton's campaign adviser, Nick Maddux, stated that "Campaigns don’t coordinate with Super Pacs, and that’s obviously what AG Paxton was referring to." Maddux emphasized Paxton's focus on Texas and direct engagement with voters.
Paxton, a long-standing conservative figure in Texas, was impeached in 2023 on allegations of bribery and abuse of public trust, but was later acquitted. His wife, Angela Paxton, divorced him citing adultery.
Recent polls indicate a close race between Paxton and Talarico. A Fox News survey showed Talarico leading Paxton 51% to 49%. A New York Times/Siena College poll found Talarico at 51% and Paxton at 45%, while a Marist University poll showed Talarico with 50% and Paxton with 44%.
This is not the first time Paxton has expressed concerns about outside involvement. Last week, The New York Times reported that Paxton admitted that Trump's Republican National Convention for the midterms negatively impacted his polling numbers. Maddux dismissed this report as "manipulated nonsense."