Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton reportedly told donors at a private fundraiser last week that his poll numbers fell after President Donald Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas, saying the situation was “not good” for his campaign.
“So to be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers,” Paxton said, according to an audio recording published by The New York Times. “Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
The remarks came after someone asked Paxton, “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?” The Times said it was unclear from the recording whom the questioner was referring to.
Paxton’s assessment of the convention differs sharply from Trump’s. The Dallas gathering on Sept. 9-10 was the Republican Party’s first national convention held specifically for a midterm election, an event Trump pushed for to rally his supporters and boost GOP candidates ahead of November.
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Paxton had a prominent role at the convention in his home state. Trump singled him out during his nearly two-hour address and promised to return to Texas to campaign for him, while also poking fun at his appearance.
“He may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, according to the Times, “but you know what, he is — he’s the greatest attorney general in America.”
Days later, Trump said the convention had helped the Senate nominee.
“I think the fact that we had such a successful convention really helped Ken Paxton,” Trump told reporters on Sept. 13. “He was a big part of it.”
Paxton is locked in a close race against Democrat James Talarico five weeks before election day. Several recent public polls have shown Talarico narrowly ahead. An NPR/Marist poll conducted Sept. 17-20 found him leading Paxton 50% to 44%, while other polls this month have put Talarico’s advantage within the margin of error.
The public polling does not necessarily establish that the Republican convention caused Paxton’s numbers to fall.
Nick Maddux, a senior adviser to Paxton, disputed the report in a statement to the Times and said the campaign’s own polling shows Paxton ahead.
“This is more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist,” Maddux told the Times.
“Our latest poll from the last week has Ken Paxton leading by 3 points, and every serious pollster will tell you that our numbers have improved since early September,” he 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.”
Paxton has closely aligned himself with Trump, whose endorsement helped him defeat Sen. John Cornyn in a bitter Republican primary earlier this year.
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