\u201cI\u2019ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it\u2019s all coming\u2014you know\u2014from D.C.,\u201d Paxton told the fundraiser attendees, one of whom does not support Paxton and leaked recordings of Paxton\u2019s pitch to media outlets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t control [the] message or what we\u2019re doing,\u201d Paxton said, adding, \u201cI don\u2019t have the ability to change anything. So I have to live with whatever I\u2019ve got. So it is a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
NEW in @playbookdc<\/a>: Ken Paxton in leaked audio vents over his campaign being run by DC:<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t control message or what we\u2019re doing\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign\u2026it\u2019s all coming \u2014 you know \u2014 from DC\u201d pic.twitter.com\/mnpUWMm6Y2<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Will Steakin (@wsteaks) October 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Talarico\u2019s campaign is already pushing out the audio to paint Paxton as a \u201cpuppet<\/a>\u201d of establishment Republicans.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Paxton\u2019s comments are unlikely to please President Donald Trump. A super PAC linked to the president is dumping tens of millions into the race and is one of the groups Paxton had to be referring to in his fundraiser comments. And this represents the second clip to emerge from a closed-door fundraiser, with the first one featuring Paxton telling donors that Trump\u2019s midterm convention was a dud<\/a>.<\/p>\n Indeed, Trump already seemed pissed at Paxton<\/a> during a rally he held in the state last week.<\/p>\n \u201cHe can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I\u2019ll be honest,\u201d Trump said at a rally on Oct. 1. \u201cIs he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. I didn\u2019t even know if he was here! I don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, if Paxton weren\u2019t a generationally bad candidate, he wouldn\u2019t be in this situation.<\/p>\n Paxton has been unable to raise enough money to run an ad campaign of his own, though his home state of Texas is where Republican Party and GOP candidates from across the country often go to raise the lion\u2019s share of their dollars.<\/p>\n In the 2024 cycle, the Republican Party raised the most money from the state, with Texan donors giving more than $142 million to the GOP, according<\/a> to data from Open Secrets.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas has largely been considered the ATM for Republican Party politics,\u201d University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus told<\/a> Houston Public Media last month. \u201cThere\u2019s no other state where there\u2019s such a convergence of ideology and money as Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that Paxton can\u2019t raise money from his own constituents shows how odious he is, as the genteel class of Texas donors find Paxton\u2019s corruption and alleged adultery<\/a> so repugnant they refuse to support his candidacy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s part of the reason why Paxton is struggling to win<\/a> a state Trump carried by double digits in 2024.<\/p>\n Polling shows Paxton trailing Talarico by more than 3 percentage points, according to FiftyPlusOne\u2019s average<\/a>, with a large chunk of self-identified Republicans saying they are defecting and supporting Talarico this cycle.<\/p>\n Even more concerning for Paxton is that his bad predicament is virtually unchanged from September<\/a>, when the same national Republican groups Paxton has criticized began dumping hundreds of millions into the contest<\/a> to save Paxton\u2019s sorry excuse for a campaign.<\/p>\n With early voting in the state set to begin on Oct. 19, Paxton and the GOP have almost no time left to change the trajectory of this contest. It\u2019s probably why Paxton was distancing himself from the ad campaign national Republicans are running.<\/p>\n \tWe’ll get straight to the point: The financial hardships that Daily Kos is facing this year are tough.<\/p>\n We continue to be paywall-free. We continue to be supported by our readers, not billionaires or corporations. But we need to bring in more revenue. We are leaning on our community more than ever to help make ends meet.<\/p>\n \t\tTop Stories Newsletter.<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26063231997824.jpg\")
James Talarico, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, shown in March.AP<\/p>\n