Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton is starting the week with a fresh PR crisis — this time over a leaked audio recording in which he said he has little control over his campaign’s own messaging.
The recording comes as Paxton, Texas’ scandal-wracked attorney general, struggles to gain momentum in his Senate race and faces criticism from significant figures inside his own party, including Karl Rove and former Republican Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.
Politico obtained and published the leaked recording on Monday. The audio reportedly came from a Sept. 24 Washington, D.C. fundraiser. The publication says it has independently verified the authenticity of the recording.
“I’ve never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign, and what issues are going to matter because it’s all coming, you know, from D.C.,” Paxton says in the clip. “I don’t control messaging or what we’re doing.”
The audio leak is the second in many weeks from Paxton’s campaign. Last week, a separate audio recording shared by The New York Times captured Paxton blaming President Donald Trump for bad polling numbers and saying his midterm RNC convention in Dallas did more harm than good.
“When we did that convention, it dropped our numbers — everybody’s numbers dropped,” Paxton says in that clip. “It’s not good.”
In a statement, Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Ryan Martin said the leaked audio recordings offer more evidence that Paxton’s campaign is being controlled by billionaire mega-donors and D.C. insiders.
“Paxton’s entire disastrous campaign is being run by D.C., not Texas, and now Paxton’s own words confirm it,” Martin said. “Paxton is a fraud who only serves himself and the corrupt interests that back him, and it is exactly why Texans will be kicking him to the curb in November.”
The leaked audio recordings come as Paxton continues to struggle in the polls. Even a Fox News survey released last week shows Paxton’s Democratic rival, state Rep. James Talarico, ahead by 2 points.
With Paxton training in recent polls, Trump will attend a rally at San Antonio’s Freeman Coliseum to stump for local Republicans.
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