Ken Paxton, G.O.P. Nominee in Texas, Privately Said Trump’s Convention Hurt Him
Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for Senate in Texas, told a group of conservative donors and lobbyists last week that President Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas had hurt Mr. Paxton politically, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times.
The recording, which is muffled at times, captures Mr. Paxton being asked, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” It is not clear from the audio whom the questioner is referring to.
Mr. Paxton responds: “So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
The audio of Mr. Paxton was shared with The Times by an attendee who recorded him speaking at a private fund-raiser in Washington attended by roughly a dozen people. The person, who opposes Mr. Paxton’s campaign and provided the recording to The Times, was granted anonymity because Mr. Paxton’s remarks were private.
Three other people with knowledge of the event confirmed Mr. Paxton’s attendance. Two of these people recalled that Mr. Paxton had been posed this question, and one recalled his response about the negative consequences of Mr. Trump’s convention.
Asked about the remarks, Nick Maddux, a senior Paxton adviser, said that “this is more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”
“Our latest poll from the last week has Ken Paxton leading by three points, and every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September,” Mr. Maddux said. “Ken Paxton is going to win this race, and he looks forward to closing strong alongside President Trump including when he comes to Texas this week.”
The event was hosted last Thursday by two Republican lobbyists, Susan Hirschmann and Chris Brinson, in a conference room near Capitol Hill. They did not respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Paxton’s comments about the convention are notable because of how closely he has aligned himself in public with Mr. Trump, who pushed for the unusual midterm gathering and ensured that much of it would serve as a celebration of his presidency. A longtime Trump loyalist, Mr. Paxton won a costly and bitter primary this year over Senator John Cornyn thanks to the president’s support.
Mr. Paxton figured prominently in the convention, which was held this month in his home state. He occupied a prime seat inside the arena and used the Dallas gathering to mingle with Republican donors and raise money for his allied groups. Onstage, Mr. Trump both praised Mr. Paxton and teased him for his looks and sartorial choices.
“He may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” the president said, “but you know what, he is — he’s the greatest attorney general in America.”
Mr. Paxton’s comments at the Washington fund-raiser echo other private whispers by Republicans that the party’s convention would not be helpful, given Mr. Trump’s sagging approval ratings.
Since the gathering, the midterm outlook for Republicans has only darkened, leaving Mr. Paxton in a precarious position just five weeks before Election Day.
He has trailed narrowly in many recent polls to his Democratic rival, James Talarico, leaving Republicans hoping that a huge surge of spending from outside groups and Texas’ traditional conservatism can carry Mr. Paxton to victory. Mr. Trump’s super PAC, MAGA Inc., has joined the effort to help Mr. Paxton, throwing $20 million behind his bid.
It remains unclear whether the Republican convention was in fact politically harmful to the party’s midterm candidates; the event did not appear to have a significant impact on public surveys of the Texas Senate race.
But one influential Republican disagrees with Mr. Paxton — and is optimistic that the gathering helped the party.
“The fact that we had such a successful convention really helped Ken Paxton,” Mr. Trump said a few days afterward. “He was a big part of it.” He added: “The convention helped Ken Paxton a lot.”