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Republican Ken Paxton admits forces in DC control his Texas Senate campaign
The Guardian • • nation
Key Points:
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Republican Senate candidate chosen by Donald Trump, privately admitted at a September fundraiser that his campaign was heavily influenced and controlled by outside forces in Washington DC, limiting his control over messaging and issues.
- Paxton is in a tight race against Democrat James Talarico, with recent polls showing Talarico holding a slight lead over Paxton among likely Texas voters.
- Paxton's campaign adviser denied coordination with Super PACs and emphasized Paxton's active efforts on the ground in Texas, including recent statewide television advertising.
- Paxton has faced multiple scandals, including a 2023 impeachment on bribery and abuse of public trust charges from which he was acquitted, and personal issues such as his wife's divorce citing adultery.
- Paxton also reportedly acknowledged that Trump's Republican National Convention negatively affected his polling numbers, though his campaign dismissed this as a misrepresentation by the media.
