Ken Paxton’s campaign is lashing out at members of his own party as a string of damaging leaks and sagging poll numbers threaten to hand a Texas Senate seat to Democrats, reported NBC News.
“There’s no doubt on our end that John Cornyn and Karl Rove are working against us,” a Republican working on Paxton’s race said when asked about private conversations leaked to the media. “They’d rather be able to say ‘told you so’” than risk a Democrat winning the seat, the person added.
Paxton trails Democrat James Talarico 46 percent to 43 percent in a September NBC5 Dallas/Telemundo poll, within the survey’s margin of error. No Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in more than three decades.
Paxton himself has accused Cornyn, whom he ousted in a bitter May primary with President Donald Trump’s help, of rooting for his defeat.
“He’s clearly not helping. He wants me to lose,” Paxton said at a recent fundraiser, according to audio obtained by CNN. It was the fifth leak from that event in recent weeks.
Cornyn’s camp denied the accusation.
“If Sen. Cornyn wanted Ken to lose, I can assure you he’d be more active in the campaign,” Cornyn strategist Rob Jesmer told CNN. “Given all Ken has said and done, I think that’s a pretty good place for Sen. Cornyn to be.”
Cornyn has called Paxton “lazy” and a “poor campaigner,” and has said he stands by his description of the attorney general as a “crook.”
Paxton’s team insists the attorney general has reached out to Cornyn “multiple times to clear the air," but a Cornyn aide stated, “that’s false.”
A person close to Paxton accused Cornyn of bitterness, pointing out that even Paxton’s estranged wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, who cited adultery in her divorce filing, cut an ad urging Republicans to vote for the full ticket. The ad does not mention Ken Paxton by name.
Republicans have dumped $179 million into ads in the race since Sept. 1, compared with $53 million from Democrats, according to AdImpact. Trump has rallied for Paxton in the state, though he has also mocked the candidate’s looks and the way he speaks. Gov. Greg Abbott, who is also on the ballot, skipped a recent rally, citing a scheduling conflict.
Rove saw the trouble coming. When Paxton strategist Jeff Roe predicted in May that the race would be “Tier 2,” Rove shot back: “Buckle up, baby. You’re in a Tier 1 race. This is going to be one of the ugliest, nastiest races in the history of Texas because of the record of your candidate.”
“In a game of inches,” one Texas GOP strategist said, “all of this is going to make a difference.”