Ken Paxton Reportedly Slams Trump’s Midterm Convention Gambit: ‘Everybody’s Numbers Dropped’

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton privately said that the Republican National Convention (RNC) midterm convention hurt his Senate bid, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Audio captured Paxton saying Republicans’ numbers dropped after the convention, according to the Times. The alleged audio was shared with the Times by an attendee at a private fundraiser in Washington, D.C.

“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,” Paxton reportedly said.

Nick Maddux, a senior Paxton adviser, disputed the remarks in the audio recording, calling it “more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”

“Our latest poll from the last week has Ken Paxton leading by three points, and every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September,” Maddux said. “Ken Paxton is going to win this race, and he looks forward to closing strong alongside President Trump including when he comes to Texas this week.”

Republican lobbyists Susan Hirschmann and Chris Brinson hosted an event Thursday in a conference room in Capitol Hill, according to the Times.

President Donald Trump criticized Paxton’s attire and looks during his second speech during the convention.

“Some may not like the way he dresses, I don’t,” Trump said. “He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen.”

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Vice President J.D. Vance did not mention Paxton during their speeches at the convention, although Vance targeted James Talarico, Paxton’s Democratic opponent, for stating God is “non-binary” and that there are “six genders.”

The Texas Senate race was considered a “toss up” as of Aug. 20, according to the Cook Political Report. Talarico was 2.9 points ahead of Paxton as of Wednesday, according to RealClearPolling averages. A Pulse Decision Science survey from late September showed Paxton leading by three points, while a Big Data poll found Talarico ahead by two points.

Republicans expected to spend between $150 million and $200 million in support of Paxton, according to Punchbowl News. Texas PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund’s super PAC in Texas, will spend over $100 million in television advertisements to support Paxton after adding over $35 million to its $65 million in TV reservations.

Republican PACs also intended to spend an unprecedented amount of money in other traditionally red states and districts, including Ohio and Kansas.

Polling for Republicans dropped after the midterm convention, with RealClearPolitics’ Generic Congressional Vote showing Democrats at 50.6% and Republicans at 42.3%. More than half of registered voters, 53%, said they would vote for Democrats if the election were currently held, while 41% preferred Republicans, according to a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll from Sept. 23.

Independent voters preferred Democrats by a 25-point margin, according to the poll.

Paxton defeated Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn in a May primary after Trump endorsed him at the last-minute.