Ken Paxton sounds alarm over Senate bid in leaked audio: ‘It’s the war, it’s gas prices’

Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton has blamed the Iran war and high fuel prices for his struggles in the Texas Senate race, according to leaked audio obtained by Axios.

Speaking at a fundraiser in Washington, DC, Paxton was asked about the main issues affecting his campaign against Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.

“It’s not tariffs. It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” Paxton said, according to Axios.

Paxton, the Texas attorney general, is trailing Talarico in most polls ahead of the November election.

He reportedly described affordability as “by far our biggest problem” and said it was why his campaign was “having a hard time with numbers”.

The recording follows another leaked audio clip from the same event, reported by the New York Times last week.

In that recording, Paxton reportedly said Donald Trump’s midterm Republican convention “dropped our numbers” and suggested many campaign decisions were being directed from Washington.

Paxton also acknowledged that ending the Iran conflict and bringing down prices were largely outside his control.

“So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don’t make the decisions,” he said.

The Texas race is among the closely watched contests ahead of November’s midterm elections.