WASHINGTON — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has acknowledged that the war with Iran is the most serious obstacle facing his US Senate campaign, according to a newly surfaced recording that marks the third audio leak involving the Republican in recent days.
At a private Washington fundraising gathering last month, Paxton attributed his struggles in polling against Democratic rival James Talarico to rising fuel costs linked to Operation Epic Fury.
“It’s not tariffs … It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” Paxton said in audio obtained by Axios and released just hours before President Trump was scheduled to campaign alongside him Wednesday night.
Paxton pointed to diesel prices topping $6 a gallon, saying the expense was putting pressure on working Americans and creating higher costs throughout the economy. “It drives up food prices and everything else,” he said.
The Senate candidate described affordability and the broader cost-of-living crisis as “by far our biggest problem,” adding that those concerns help explain why his campaign has struggled in the polls.
After someone in the audience noted that Paxton has no direct control over fuel prices, he conceded that many issues shaping the federal race are beyond his reach. “I don’t make the decisions,” he said, adding that he does not always know what is driving some of the choices made in Washington.
The latest recording surfaced shortly after another leaked clip in which Paxton complained about what he characterized as the influence of Washington Republicans on his campaign.
A separate recording captured Paxton criticizing last month’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, arguing that the event had hurt his standing in the polls.
CHECK THIS OUT: Banana Bread vs. Chocolate Cake: Is It Really Healthier?
The source of the three recordings remains unknown, and it has not been established whether they were made at the same fundraising event.
According to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average, Talarico currently leads Paxton by 3.1 percentage points.
No Democrat has won a US Senate seat representing Texas since 1988. Still, Republicans have poured millions of dollars into the contest in an effort to keep Paxton competitive. The Texas Tribune reported that $122 million was spent on the race last month.
Paxton defeated longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn in a May primary runoff, despite a record marked by repeated scandals and controversies. Those include extramarital affairs and a 2023 impeachment by the Texas Legislature over allegations that he misused public resources, favored a donor and obstructed justice.
He was also indicted in 2015 on securities fraud charges. That case remained unresolved until 2024, when Paxton agreed to pay $300,000 in restitution, complete legal ethics courses and perform 100 hours of community service.
Several Republican operatives, along with Cornyn, have criticized Paxton’s campaign as “lazy.”
Paxton’s campaign dismissed the newest recording as “a non-story.”
“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,” the campaign said.
The campaign added that Trump is working to lower prices and said Paxton would go to Washington to support those efforts and help put more money back into the pockets of American families.