Audio obtained by The New York Times captures the Texas Republican Senate nominee describing a drop in his polling after the president's Dallas midterm convention; his campaign rejects the account.
Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, privately told donors and lobbyists that President Trump's midterm convention in Dallas hurt his standing with voters, according to an audio recording obtained by The New York Times. The Times reported the story Sept. 30.
 |
| Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas, speaks at the Republican convention in Dallas on Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
What the recording captures
In the muffled recording, someone asks Paxton whether Trump is "a little bit of a drag." The audio does not make clear who the questioner meant. Paxton answers that the numbers dropped when the convention took place, saying "everybody's numbers dropped" and adding that things were "not good" at the moment.
The recording was made at a private fundraiser last Thursday in a conference room near Capitol Hill in Washington, attended by about a dozen people. Two Republican lobbyists, Susan Hirschmann and Chris Brinson, hosted it. They did not respond to requests for comment, the Times reported.
The person who gave the audio to the Times opposes Paxton's campaign and was granted anonymity because the remarks were private. Three other people familiar with the event confirmed that Paxton attended. Two of them remembered him being asked the question, and one remembered his answer about the convention's negative effect.
Paxton's campaign pushes back
Nick Maddux, a senior adviser to Paxton, called the report "manipulated nonsense" meant to create a story that does not exist. He said the campaign's most recent poll, from the past week, shows Paxton ahead by three points. He also said that "every serious pollster" would confirm Paxton's numbers have improved since early September.
Maddux said Paxton expects to win and looks forward to campaigning alongside Trump, including when the president visits Texas this week.
Why the comments stand out
Paxton has tied himself closely to Trump in public. The president pushed for the unusual midterm convention and shaped much of it into a celebration of his time in office. Paxton, a longtime Trump loyalist, won a costly and bitter primary this year against Sen. John Cornyn with the president's backing.
Paxton had a prominent role at the Dallas event, held in his home state. He had a prime seat in the arena and used the gathering to meet Republican donors and raise money for allied groups. On stage, Trump praised him as the "greatest attorney general in America" while also joking about his looks and clothing.
The Times said Paxton's private remarks echo quiet concerns among other Republicans that the convention would not help the party, given Trump's low approval ratings.
Where the race stands
The election is about five weeks away. Paxton has trailed narrowly in many recent polls against Democratic nominee James Talarico. Republicans are counting on heavy spending by outside groups and Texas' conservative lean to pull him through. MAGA Inc., Trump's super PAC, has put $20 million into the effort.
It is not clear whether the convention actually damaged the party's candidates. According to the Times, it did not appear to cause a significant shift in public polling of the Texas Senate race.
Trump sees it differently. A few days after the event, he said the convention was successful and "helped Ken Paxton a lot," calling Paxton a big part of it.