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Ken Paxton, Texas's Republican attorney general and candidate for Senate, revealed in private comments at a fundraising event that his campaign is being heavily influenced by external forces in Washington DC. According to Politico, which obtained an audio recording of the event held in September, Paxton stated he had no control over the messaging or direction of his campaign. Although Paxton’s adviser Nick Maddux said campaigns do not coordinate with Super PACs and that Paxton appreciates support from them, polls indicate a tight race between Paxton and Democrat James Talarico, showing slight leads for Talarico in recent surveys.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
President Donald Trump held a midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, aiming to rally his Republican base ahead of the November 3 election. However, leaked audio from a private fundraiser suggests that Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton said the event hurt their numbers and dropped support for him and other Republicans. RealClearPolitics polls showed Democrats at 50.5% compared to Republicans' 42.1%, up significantly from September 7 when Democrats were at 48.1%. The leaked audio has also led some Republican strategists to question the effectiveness of Trump's influence on voter support, with a ReconMR Texas Poll indicating James Talarico, Democratic Senate candidate, leads Paxton 49% to 43% among likely voters.
Written for “Trump Midterm Convention Controversy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 13 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning: leans left for article 57813 (high confidence, 1 verified quote) · logged 2026-10-05
Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general chosen by Donald Trump to run as the Republican candidate for a Senate seat, admitted in private that his campaign was being controlled by outside forces in Washington DC.
asserted
campaign → choose → DC
Paxton, who is locked in a competitive race with the progressive Democrat James Talarico, told people at a fundraising event in September that he had never felt such little control over his campaign because of outside influence.
asserted
he → lock → influence
“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming – you know – from D.C.,” Paxton said, according to an audio recording obtained by Politico.
uncertain
Paxton → feel → Politico
“I don’t control message or what we’re doing,” Paxton said.
asserted
Paxton → control → what
An unnamed attender told Politico that Paxton never explicitly said he was referring to Trump’s team controlling his campaign messaging but that Paxton’s comments arose during a conversation about the national political environment.
asserted
comments → tell → environment
Paxton’s campaign adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement, “Campaigns don’t coordinate with Super Pacs, and that’s obviously what AG Paxton was referring to.
“AG Paxton is thankful for the support and knows how important Texas is to keeping the majority which is why he’s on the ground every day talking to Texas, raising money, and taking his message directly to the people including with his statewide television buy that started over this past weekend,” Maddux said.
asserted
Maddux → say → weekend
Earlier this year, Trump chose Paxton to run against Talarico, a political newcomer who Democrats hope will flip Texas’s longtime red senate seat to blue in the midterm elections next month.
asserted
Democrats → choose → elections
Though Paxton has been a well-known conservative figure in Texas for years, he has also been embroiled in a series of scandals.
asserted
he → know → scandals
Paxton was impeached in 2023 on allegations including bribery and abuse of public trust – though he was later acquitted.
asserted
he → impeach → trust
Paxton’s wife, Angela Paxton, also divorced him on “biblical grounds”, citing adultery.
asserted
wife → divorce → adultery
Polls show Paxton and Talarico neck-and-neck, with Talarico having a small lead over the Texas attorney general.
asserted
Talarico → show → general
A Fox News survey found Talarico at 51% and Paxton at 49% among likely voters.
asserted
survey → find → voters
A New York Times/Siena College poll found Talarico at 51% and Paxton at 45% among likely Texas voters.
asserted
poll → find → voters
A Marist University poll indicated Talarico had 50% while Paxton had 44% among registered voters.
asserted
Paxton → indicate → voters
Paxton’s latest comments are the second reported critical remarks the Texas attorney general has made about outside involvement in his campaign.
asserted
general → report → campaign
Last week, the New York Times reported that Paxton admitted that Trump’s Republican National Convention for the midterms “dropped” his polling numbers.
asserted
Convention → report → numbers
Asked whether the convention had negative consequences, Paxton replied: “So to be honest with you, the numbers – when we did that convention – it dropped our numbers.
asserted
it → ask → numbers
Everybody’s numbers dropped.
asserted
numbers → drop → ?
Maddux told the New York Times that Paxton’s reported comment was “manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist”.
asserted
that → tell → story
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