Ken Paxton released audio from a September 24 Washington DC fundraiser where he claims Senator John Cornyn wants him to lose the Texas Senate race. In the recording, Paxton alleges that at an upscale Dallas restaurant earlier, Cornyn became angry when thanked for supporting Paxton and said "Paxton's gonna lose" as Republicans need to be taught a lesson. However, Cornyn’s representative denies this occurred and says if Cornyn wanted Paxton to lose, he wouldn't support him publicly. The leak highlights divisions within the Republican Party ahead of the Texas Senate race where Paxton trails James Talarico.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 68718: attributed speech only · logged 2026-10-09
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what → sign → Hill
Ken Paxton audio has leaked, and this time he’s accusing Senator John Cornyn of wanting him to lose the high-stakes Texas Senate race.
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him → leak → race
'He's clearly not helping.
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He → help → ?
He wants me to lose,' Paxton said in a leaked recording obtained by CNN from a private fundraiser in Washington, DC, on September 24.
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Paxton → want → September
In the audio, Paxton recounts an alleged confrontation between Cornyn and a friend of his at an upscale Dallas restaurant, claiming the senator became angry after being thanked by his friend for backing Paxton.
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senator → recount → Paxton
According to Paxton, the friend thanked Cornyn for his years of service to Texas and for supporting him despite losing the primary.
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friend → accord → primary
But Paxton claimed the exchange quickly turned sour.
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exchange → claim → ?
'Cornyn's face went red.
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face → go → ?
He backed off,' Paxton said in the recording.
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Paxton → back → recording
He then alleged Cornyn replied, 'Paxton's gonna lose.
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Paxton → allege → ?
We need to teach those Republicans a lesson.
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We → need → lesson
It's going to be hard to learn, but they need to know that their decisions have consequences.'
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decisions → go → consequences
'That's what he's trying to do.
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he → try → what
That's John Cornyn,' Paxton added.
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Paxton → add → ?
In leaked audio, Paxton recounts an alleged confrontation between Cornyn and a friend of his at an upscale Dallas restaurant, claiming the senator became angry after being thanked by his friend for backing Paxton
He alleged Cornyn replied, 'Paxton's gonna lose.
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Paxton → leak → Paxton
We need to teach those Republicans a lesson.
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We → need → lesson
It's going to be hard to learn, but they need to know that their decisions have consequences'
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decisions → go → consequences
However, CNN said it could not independently verify Paxton's account of the restaurant encounter, and Cornyn's representative flatly denied that the conversation took place.
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conversation → say → place
Cornyn's longtime political strategist Rob Jesmer pushed back on Paxton's claims, telling CNN that if the outgoing senator really wanted his Republican rival to lose, he would be far more involved in the campaign.
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he → push → campaign
Jesmer said Cornyn had publicly backed the GOP ticket and suggested that, given Paxton's own words and actions, the senator's level of support was more than sufficient.
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level → say → support
The latest recording is the fifth known clip to emerge from the September fundraiser, putting fresh attention on divisions within the Republican Party as the Texas Senate race intensifies and raising questions about who is trying to sabotage his campaign.
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who → know → campaign
Paxton's campaign dismissed the recording to the Daily Mail as 'a story that doesn't exist', while maintaining that the candidate had reached out to Cornyn and offered to have a conversation.
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candidate → dismiss → conversation
‘General Paxton appreciates his decades of service to the Lone Star State,' senior adviser Nick Maddux said, adding that the campaign hoped Cornyn would join its effort to protect the Republican Senate majority.
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Cornyn → appreciate → majority
Cornyn has not endorsed Paxton since losing the primary, and his reluctance to campaign alongside his former rival has frustrated some Texas Republicans.
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reluctance → endorse → Republicans
Meanwhile, Paxton has trailed James Talarico in a battery of polls over the last month, though one this week showed the race deadlocked.
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race → trail → month
The leaked recordings have also exposed Paxton's private frustrations with his campaign, including remarks blaming the Iran war and rising fuel prices for hurting Republican prospects, as well as complaints that he has lost control over his campaign's messaging.
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he → leak → messaging
Trump has continued to back Paxton, praising him during a recent Texas rally as 'perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.'
And Cornyn is making sure he's going out with a bang.
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he → continue → bang
As he nears the end of his time in Congress, he has released a tell-all book taking aim at MAGA and President Donald Trump, offering an explosive account of the movement that has reshaped his party.
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that → near → party
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