Republican senators are sounding the alarm over Ken Paxton's Texas Senate campaign, and one is openly wondering whether the nominee is trying to lose.
The GOP's mounting anxiety over the race spilled out into the open in a Politico report published Saturday, which described senior Republicans privately urging President Donald Trump's political operation to pour more money into Texas before it's too late.
"There seems to be very little strategy there," one Republican senator told Politico on the condition of anonymity. "Sometimes, I think [Paxton] wants to lose."
The comment reflects growing frustration among GOP lawmakers and operatives over what they see as a string of self-inflicted wounds by the Texas attorney general. Chief among them is leaked audio, first reported by The New York Times, in which Paxton told donors that "everybody's numbers dropped" following Trump's GOP convention in Dallas last month.
Another Republican senator put the stakes bluntly.
"It's a five-alarm fire, no doubt," the senator said. "Can we put it out? I hope so."
A Republican strategist in Texas was even more pessimistic about the party's prospects against Democratic nominee James Talarico.
"This is a slow-moving car crash that we're witnessing right now," the strategist said. "And there's a 75 percent chance that the ultimate result here will be catastrophic from a GOP Senate majority standpoint."
Outside Republican spending on the race is on pace to exceed $200 million, with the Senate Leadership Fund alone having committed a record $131 million. Some GOP operatives in Michigan and New Hampshire have grumbled that the money would be better spent in their own competitive races, Politico reported.
Trump acknowledged the party's worries at a rally in Oklahoma on Thursday.
"We're worried about Michigan. We're worried about Texas," he told the crowd. "We're worried about a few states."
While in Texas earlier that day, the president offered a backhanded endorsement of his candidate.
"Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody, and I have to always remember that because he can be a pain in the a— sometimes. I'll be honest," Trump said.