The Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton reportedly told donors that the Republican midterm convention held in Dallas dragged down everyone’s numbers. The leak was published Wednesday by The New York Times, which put the audio online. When questioned about it, President Trump deflected.
Paxton was speaking at a private event with lobbyists and donors in South Texas when someone asked him, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” It’s unclear who the question referred to. Paxton replied, “So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
Trump’s Deflection
Trump addressed the matter Wednesday in the Oval Office. He said he “hadn’t heard that” about Paxton’s comments, adding, “But I can tell you that the convention was amazing, as you probably know.” He touted the convention’s viewership and argued that “other people were helped greatly.”
The audio has not been independently verified by CBS News. A full-throated reaction from Paxton’s camp has already followed the leak.
Paxton’s Camp Responds
Nick Maddux, Paxton’s spokesperson, called the leak “manipulated nonsense to create a story that doesn’t exist.” He pointed to an internal poll showing Paxton leading his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, by three points.
Wednesday’s virtual appearance by Talarico did not include any reference to the Paxton comments, despite his presence at the event. The Texas Democratic Party answered back more pointedly, calling Paxton “loyal to nobody but himself,” and labeling the remarks “embarrassing to the president.”.
Cornyn Weighs In
The Republican incumbent who ran against Paxton in a hard-fought primary runoff responded with a short, regretful remark when questioned Wednesday about the audio. Sen. John Cornyn said “whoops!”.
Paxton has not led public polls, Cornyn said, and he cautioned that “it’s a tough environment, period.”. The senator also argued that “dropping” would not have occurred had he been the candidate chosen.
Trump headlined a two-night midterm convention in Dallas in September, an unprecedented event aimed at boosting GOP midterm support. Since the primary fight with Cornyn, a key party fundraiser, support for Paxton has been muted among many Republicans.
Trump issued an 11th-hour endorsement to Paxton, a longtime ally. Paxton came out ahead of Cornyn in the runoff. At the convention, Trump said Paxton “may not dress right,” “may not talk exactly perfectly” and “may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” but added that Paxton is “the greatest attorney general in America, and he deserves to be your next senator.”
No Democrat has been elected statewide in Texas since 1994, and current surveys place Paxton behind Talarico.
The Forecast
Wednesday is expected to bring storms, with showers and thunderstorms arriving in the Dallas-Fort Worth area late in the afternoon and continuing into the early evening.
Thursday brings a campaign visit from Trump to Denton, Texas, though it remains uncertain whether Paxton will join him there.
| Speaker | Response |
|---|---|
| Paxton | “Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good” |
| Maddux | Called it “manipulated nonsense to create a story that doesn’t exist” |
| Trump | Said he “hadn’t heard that,” defended the convention |
| Cornyn | Said “whoops!” and warned of a “tough environment” |
| Event | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| GOP midterm convention | September | Dallas |
| Trump campaign stop | Thursday | Denton, Texas |
| Paxton donor event | Wednesday | South Texas |
The leak has produced a full-throated response from Paxton’s camp.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs neither Paxton nor Trump on this matter, but notes that Trump’s deflection and Paxton’s admission of a dropped number both point toward a campaign that is letting the numbers do the talking. The paper’s north star is individual freedom, small business and avoiding concentrations of power, and on this issue, neither candidate’s response advances that cause.
Paxton’s admission that the convention dropped everyone’s numbers is direct and honest, even if the leak was published by a major news outlet rather than coming from Paxton’s own camp. Trump’s deflection, however, is a familiar pattern that treats politics as a horse race between two machines gathering power, a habit the paper has warned against repeatedly.
The paper would prefer candidates to answer questions directly and honestly, without deflecting to convention viewership or the performance of other campaigns. Instead, Paxton’s camp responded with a full-throated denial, dismissing the leak as “manipulated nonsense to create a story that doesn’t exist” while pointing to an internal poll showing Paxton leading Talarico by three points.
See the video the story is built around at CBS News.
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