Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, a Republican, admitted in leaked audio that he has little control over his own campaign, saying "it's all… coming from D.C.," according to a recording obtained by Politico.
The clip, made public on Monday, was recorded at a small fundraiser in September. It surfaces less than 30 days before the midterms, as Paxton faces an uphill fight against Democrat James Talarico in deep-red Texas.
"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 says in the recording.
He continued, "I don't have ability to change anything. So I have to live with whatever I've got. So it is a challenge."
The audio was captured by an attendee who told Politico he does not support Paxton.
An anonymous source told Politico that when it came to who was controlling the campaign, "everybody knew what he was talking about."
The Politico report comes just days after another leaked clip from the same fundraiser, obtained by The New York Times, in which Paxton was heard saying President Donald Trump's Texas midterm convention hurt him more than it helped.
In that recording, Paxton is asked, "Do you feel like he's a little bit of a drag?"
"So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers," Paxton answered. "Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good."
As with the Politico audio, the recording was provided to The Times by an anonymous attendee of the fundraiser who opposes Paxton's candidacy.
Paxton became the Republican nominee in May after landing Trump's endorsement. The president passed over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in backing Paxton.
Trump stepped into the race over the objections of many in the GOP establishment. Those Republicans worried that Paxton's various corruption and infidelity scandals would dog him in the general election and put a safe Senate seat in play.
Those concerns now appear to be coming to pass.
Despite having the president's support, Paxton has failed to hold off Talarico in recent polling.
That has put Republicans at risk of losing a Senate race in reliably red Texas for the first time in 38 years.
The two leaked recordings offer a rare look at how Paxton has privately described the state of his campaign. In one, he says he feels he has less control over his race than ever before, with the direction coming from Washington. In the other, he acknowledges that the Trump convention in Texas caused his poll numbers to drop.
Both recordings came from the same September fundraiser, and both were handed to news outlets by attendees who oppose Paxton's bid for the Senate.
With the midterms now less than a month away, the leaks add to the pressure on a campaign that party establishment figures had warned could put a typically safe Republican seat in jeopardy, and which recent polls suggest is in a tough contest against Talarico.
