Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton didn't do himself any favors telling supporters that President Donald Trump's Texas convention is the reason his Senate campaign is struggling against Democrat James Talarico.
According to a bombshell report from the New York Times, the embattled Paxton was secretly recorded at a fundraiser last week complaining about Trump, who has been his biggest booster.
In the recording, a person is heard asking Paxton, "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?"
"So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers," Paxton is heard saying. "Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good." The Times reported the recording was made by a Paxton critic who attended the fundraiser.
Reacting to the report, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman suggested it could be a deathblow to Paxton's already-struggling campaign.
"This is not good for paxton," Sherman wrote on X. "trashing trump in a fundraiser. also trying to shift blame for his bad numbers. will be interesting to see if this gives SLF/Texas PAC the impetus to give up on their massive, $125M spend there."
He added that the timing looks especially bad given Trump has publicly praised the convention Paxton privately blamed: "plus, trump has been saying how great the midterm convention was. he said it yesterday standing alongside tech/AI leaders."
The leak lands on top of an already grim polling picture for Paxton in a race Republicans once assumed was safe, adding fresh doubt about whether the GOP's chosen nominee can hold what should be reliably red Texas turf against Talarico this fall.
plus, trump has been saying how great the midterm convention was. he said it yesterday standing alongside tech/AI leaders https://t.co/MWmnzc1SBx
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) September 30, 2026