Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton of Texas was pressed by Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday as to why he was trailing behind his Democratic opponent in a state President Donald Trump won in 2024 by double digits.
“This is a state that President Trump won – why is this race so close, and what are you doing about it?” Bartiromo asked Paxton.
In early June, The New York Times’ aggregation of polls showed Paxton with a slight lead in several surveys. However, that lead soon collapsed, with the last seven polls showing Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico with a lead as high as five points as of July 31.
As to why the race had flipped in Talarico’s favor, Paxton blamed the development on the 2026 midterms being a “different environment” when compared with the 2024 election, and took to pleading with Fox News viewers to donate to his campaign.
“Go to KenPaxton.com and help us because we need help!” Paxton said. “We need help now because James Talarico has been spending $3 or $4 million a week on TV for the last month.”
A controversial figure in politics, Paxton faced accusations of bribery and abuse of public trust in 2023 during his impeachment trial. He faced accusations of infidelity from his wife, who filed for divorce on “biblical grounds” last year. Paxton was also accused of stealing a $1,000 luxury fountain pen from a courthouse, and faced criticism for offering what critics described as a lenient plea deal to a child abuser during his time as Texas attorney general.
Paxton won his GOP primary election in May against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) after scoring an endorsement from President Donald Trump, but has remained a controversial figure in politics, even among Republicans.
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