Ken Paxton Billionaires & Big Business Texas

Ken Paxton Ran Against Washington's Money. Now He Tells Donors 'I Don't Control Message' Because Washington Runs His Campaign.

In the primary, Ken Paxton attacked John Cornyn for running on 'D.C. establishment' money. At a private Washington fundraiser, he admitted D.C. now controls his own message — after Republicans spent $122 million backing him in September, only $1.2 million of it from his own campaign.

MAGA Report Cards · Oct 05, 2026

Ken Paxton Ran Against Washington's Money. Now He Tells Donors 'I Don't Control Message' Because Washington Runs His Campaign. — Photo: Jose Luis Magana / AP, via The Washington Sun

Ken Paxton won his Senate primary by telling Texans that Washington's money was trying to pick their senator for them.

Now he has admitted, in private, that Washington is running his campaign.

"I've never been in a race where I felt less control over the campaign and, like, what issues are going to matter because it's all coming — you know — from D.C.," Paxton said at a private fundraiser on September 24, according to audio obtained by Politico and reported by The Washington Sun.

"I don't control message or what we're doing," he said.

The fundraiser was in Washington.

What he said about Washington money in the primary

In February, Paxton stood on a bar's bandstand and went after Sen. John Cornyn for exactly this.

"His money is coming from the D.C. establishment," Paxton said of Cornyn, according to the Associated Press. "That's how he can afford these commercials and that's how they always try to convince us from Washington with their money that we should select their person."

That was the pitch: Cornyn is Washington's pick, bought with Washington's ads. I'm yours.

Trump endorsed Paxton a week before the May runoff, and Paxton won it.

Then Washington's money came for him

Today, Washington's money isn't trying to stop Ken Paxton. It's carrying him.

According to The Texas Tribune, drawing on ad-tracking firm AdImpact and federal filings:

Republicans spent $122 million backing Paxton in September alone, and had reserved another $66 million in airtime through Election Day.
Paxton's own campaign accounted for just $1.2 million of that September spending.
Texas PAC, the group connected to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, had spent $131 million on the race — more than any other group.
Trump's super PAC had put in nearly $24 million.

That is the "D.C. establishment" Paxton warned Texans about. It's the same Senate Republican leadership that, during the primary, warned that a Paxton win would put the seat at risk and cost nine figures to defend. Now it's paying that bill — and, by Paxton's own account, writing the message.

We've watched this coming for months. Back in July, even Republican mega-donors didn't want to touch Ken Paxton — so Trump and Elon Musk set out to buy him the seat instead.

The campaign's excuse

Paxton's adviser, Nick Maddux, told Politico that Paxton was talking about independent super PACs. "Campaigns don't coordinate with super PACS and that's obviously what AG Paxton was referring to," he said.

That doesn't help him. It's the admission.

If the groups Paxton doesn't coordinate with are deciding "what issues are going to matter" in his race, then Texans aren't hearing from the candidate. They're hearing from Thune's PAC and Trump's PAC — the "D.C. establishment" money he told them to distrust. And Paxton himself said the problem is that he doesn't control it.

He also told donors that Texas's size makes it hard for him to reach voters himself. "But then it comes down to your messaging," he said, "which in a federal race comes from other people a lot of times, which you don't control."

Paxton spent his primary telling Texans he'd be their senator, not Washington's. He is now telling donors at a Washington fundraiser that Washington is in charge.

Not the first leak from that room

This is the second recording to come out of the same Washington fundraiser. The Washington Sun reports that audio released the week before caught Paxton blaming Trump's midterm convention in Dallas for his falling poll numbers.

The race is close. A New York Times/Siena poll taken September 21–30 had Democrat James Talarico ahead of Paxton 51% to 45% among likely voters.

What the recording shows

In February, Ken Paxton attacked John Cornyn for running on "D.C. establishment" money and Washington's ads. At a private Washington fundraiser on September 24, Paxton said "I don't control message or what we're doing" because his campaign's message is "all coming — you know — from D.C." In September alone, Republicans spent $122 million backing him while his own campaign spent $1.2 million, and a PAC tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune has now spent $131 million on the race.