Texas GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton has read the polls and can tell that his bid to replace sitting Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn is failing and on the verge of total collapse, and in his frustration he’s letting donors and supporters know that the albatross dragging him down is Donald Trump, the so-called “president.”
Just last month, Paxton told donors and lobbyists that Trump’s never ending war with Iran and resulting inflation are killing his chances in his race against Democratic nominee James Talarico, according to audio obtained by Axios.
Paxton said that tariffs aren’t the culprit for Trump’s shitty economy, but “it’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel.” He also admitted that the higher cost of fuel “drives up food prices and everything else,” that “people are feeling the pinch,” and that “we’re having a hard time with numbers” because it’s made unaffordability “by far our biggest problem.”
“So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable,” Paxton added. “I don’t make the decisions, and I don’t know what’s behind some of the decisions.”
Paxton’s campaign called the leaked audio a “non-story.” “The Attorney General said what every Texan already knows: gas and diesel prices are too high, and hardworking Texans are struggling at the pump and at the grocery store,” a spokesman said.
“President Trump is doing everything he can to bring prices down, and Ken Paxton is going to Washington to help him by putting money back in families’ pockets.”
But based on the latest polls, it seems unlikely that Paxton will have a chance to do anything as a member of the Senate, with surveys showing him trailing Talarico by as much as 6 points.
The latest poll from the New York Times and Siena Research Institute shows Talarico leading Paxton by six points, 51% to 45%, with two weeks left before early voting begins. In June, the two men were tied at 47%.
Trump and his foolhardy war which has caused a deep recession are also dragging down other Republican candidates, including incumbent Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is in the fight of his life against Democrat Adam Hamilton. The Jayhawk state has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1932.
The Cook Political Report officially moved Kansas’ Senate race into “Toss Up” territory on Tuesday, an ominous sign for Marshall and the GOP, which is facing the largest midterm loss in decades.
And most damning for the White House is that voters are saying Trump is the reason the country is in so much trouble nationally and abroad. Just ask Ken Paxton in private, and he’ll tell you, too.
