NYT Publishes Audio of Paxton Telling Donors Trump's Dallas Convention 'Dropped Our Numbers'

Ken Paxton, the Republican U.S. Senate nominee in Texas, spoke last Thursday at a private gathering of conservative donors and lobbyists, according to Reuters and the Texas Tribune reporting on the New York Times audio. Asked “Do you feel like he’s a little bit of a drag?”, Paxton replied: “the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.” The recording does not make clear whom the question meant; the Texas Tribune says Paxton’s answer suggested Trump. The convention is the Trump-led midterm convention in Dallas earlier in the month. An attendee who opposes Paxton’s candidacy shared the audio. Reuters and the Texas Tribune both say they did not independently verify it, and the NYT page itself was not fetched here.

Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux called it “more manipulated nonsense.” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the convention “was amazing.” Paxton’s campaign released an internal poll on Tuesday showing him up three points over James Talarico; that is a campaign-released figure, not an independent one.

Context: Paxton is the nominee Trump endorsed over Cornyn (2026-05-26–paxton-defeats-cornyn-texas-senate-primary-trump-loyalty-enforcement-endorsement) and whose campaign allied money is backing (2026-10-12–musk-276m-new-midterm-giving-since-july-366m-cycle-total-nyt). The convention’s effect on polling here is Paxton’s own remark.