Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general running as the Republican candidate in a competitive Senate race, admitted privately that rising fuel prices as a result of Donald Trump's Iran war were hurting his party before the midterms, according to leaked audio obtained by Axios.
Asked what issues were 'dragging' his campaign at a closed-door fundraising event, Paxton replied: 'It's not tariffs … it's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel.' He noted that diesel prices above $6 per gallon mean 'people are feeling the pinch.'
Paxton acknowledged affordability was Republicans' 'biggest problem' heading into the election, citing polling numbers showing Democrats ahead in many competitive races, including his own.
Trump has tried to change the narrative on affordability. He picked Paxton to run in the Texas Senate race and will join him at a rally in San Antonio on Wednesday evening. But Paxton appeared to recognise the uphill battle, telling those at the closed-door events that 'so many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable.' 'I don't make the decisions, and I don't, you know, I don't know what's behind some of the decisions,' he said.
Madison Cercy, a spokesperson for Paxton's campaign, dismissed the comments as 'a non-story,' stating that 'the attorney general said what every Texan already knows: gas and diesel prices are too high, and hardworking Texans are struggling at the pump and at the grocery store.' She said Trump is doing everything to bring prices down and that Paxton would go to Washington to help by pushing for a bigger child tax credit and larger deductions for health care and home buying. Cercy added that Paxton's Democratic opponent, James Talarico, would raise taxes.
Recent polling from the Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research indicates most adults blame Trump for poor economic conditions.