Trump-backed Ken Paxton admits Iran war, fuel prices are hurting his Texas Senate bid - Report

Paxton specifically pointed to diesel prices of more than $6 a gallon, saying higher fuel costs were being felt by consumers and were contributing to increased food prices and other expenses.

Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton privately acknowledged that the Iran war and rising fuel prices are creating difficulties for his campaign, telling donors and lobbyists that several factors affecting the race were beyond his control, according to Axios.

Paxton, Texas attorney general and a close ally of President Donald Trump, as per the report, made the remarks during a closed-door fundraiser in Washington, DC, last month.

Axios said it has obtained an audio recording of the meeting from an attendee who opposed Paxton and was granted anonymity because the event was private.

‘It’s the war, it’s gas prices’

Asked what issues were weighing on his campaign, Paxton said the problem was not tariffs but the war and rising gasoline and diesel prices, according to the recording obtained by the news outlet.

He specifically pointed to diesel prices of more than $6 a gallon, saying higher fuel costs were being felt by consumers and were contributing to increased food prices and other expenses.

Paxton described affordability as the biggest problem facing his campaign and linked it to difficulties with his polling numbers.

‘I don’t make the decisions’

When an attendee noted that Paxton could not stop the war, the Republican candidate agreed and said he had no control over gas prices.

He also acknowledged that several factors affecting a federal Senate race were outside his control.

“I don’t make the decisions,” Paxton said, according to the media outlet, adding that he did not know what was behind some of the decisions.

Paxton pitches tax cuts on affordability

Paxton pointed to his proposed tax-cut plan as a way to address affordability concerns.

The plan includes new deductions related to housing and healthcare, as well as an expansion of the child tax credit, according to Axios.

“I’m just trying to figure out ways I can help people,” Paxton said, adding that his role would be to propose legislation.

Campaign dismisses remarks as ‘non-story’

The Paxton campaign rejected the significance of the comments, telling Axios that the attorney general was simply acknowledging the high cost of gasoline and diesel and the pressure those prices were putting on Texans.

The campaign said Trump was working to bring prices down and argued that Paxton would go to Washington to support those efforts while seeking to put more money into families’ pockets.

Trump set to campaign with Paxton

Trump is scheduled to rally with Paxton in San Antonio on Wednesday.

Paxton is running against Democratic state Rep. James Talarico after defeating Republican Senator John Cornyn in the May primary runoff.

A Talarico victory would mark the first time a Democrat has been elected to the US Senate from Texas since the 1980s.

Paxton has been among Trump's most loyal political allies. Trump backed Paxton during the Republican primary despite appeals from Senate Republicans to support Cornyn.

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