Now that more than a handful of Senate seats held by Republicans have flipped to Democrats, a top staffer who worked on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s losing campaign is pointing the finger at Donald Trump.
They put it bluntly in an election-night conversation with the Daily Mail, complaining, “He hurt us. We couldn’t get away from him.”
Paxton’s defeat by Democrat James Talarico flipped a Texas Senate seat Republicans had held for decades, one of the biggest upsets of a brutal night for the GOP. Yet Paxton himself appeared "remarkably composed," according to the report. His concession speech was unusually gracious, saying he would “pray” for Talarico as he stuck around until 11 p.m. greeting supporters and posing for pictures.
Trump, by contrast, reportedly "spent the evening sulking" inside the White House residence, the Mail reported.
According to the Paxton insider, the Texas AG was reflecting a sense on the campaign that "the loss belonged to someone else." The complaint wasn’t only that Trump’s approval ratings dragged down Republicans, but that the president also actively disrupted its plans.
The aide pointed to a canceled event with a moms’ group, which the campaign had hoped would help repair Paxton’s "standing with women" after his personal scandals. Just days before it was set to happen, the White House called to say Trump was coming to Texas again. It was one of five visits he made to the state before the midterms, and the moms’ event was dropped.
Trump faced criticism for endorsing Paxton in the primary over Sen. John Cornyn, saying Cornyn hadn’t been loyal enough. Paxton came with heavy baggage, including professional controversies and an affair with a married Christian influencer that was exposed by the Daily Mail.
Still, the aide argued that the result was baked in, given voters’ fury at Republicans in Washington.
“That’s the silver lining. I can honestly say Cornyn would have been in the same boat,” the aide insisted.