With the midterm elections 29 days away, Republican Ken Paxton is already preparing an escape hatch in case he loses Texas’ Senate race to Democrat James Talarico. Rather than owning the state of his campaign, Paxton is pointing toward party operatives in Washington, D.C.

Audio obtained by Politico captures Paxton lamenting the operation during a closed door fundraiser he held in Washington last month. His complaint was that operatives in the nation’s capital are orchestrating the race’s messaging, leaving him without control over what appears in advertisements.

Paxton told attendees, “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.,”

One attendee who does not support Paxton leaked recordings of his pitch to media outlets. The remarks offered a remarkably convenient foundation for Paxton to avoid responsibility if Talarico prevails.

“I don’t control [the] message or what we’re doing,” Paxton said. He added, “I don’t have the ability to change anything. So I have to live with whatever I’ve got. So it is a challenge.”

The Talarico campaign is already circulating the audio and using it to portray Paxton as a “puppet” of establishment Republicans. Paxton’s own words supplied the Democratic campaign with plenty of material for that argument.

The comments also appear unlikely to delight President Donald Trump. A super PAC linked to Trump is pouring tens of millions into the contest and is among the groups Paxton had to be referencing while complaining about outside control.

This is the second clip to surface from one of Paxton’s closed door fundraisers. In the first recording, Paxton told donors that Trump’s midterm convention was a dud.

Trump already appeared irritated with Paxton during a rally in Texas last week. The president made that displeasure rather public while speaking on Oct. 1.

“He can be a pain in the ass sometimes, I’ll be honest,” Trump said. “Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is. I didn’t even know if he was here! I don’t care.”

Paxton’s predicament also reflects his failure to collect enough money to operate an advertising campaign of his own. That shortfall is especially glaring in Texas, where Republican Party organizations and GOP candidates from across the country frequently raise large portions of their campaign money.

During the 2024 cycle, the Republican Party raised more money from Texas than from any other state. Texas donors gave more than $142 million to the GOP, according to Open Secrets data.

“Texas has largely been considered the ATM for Republican Party politics,” University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus told Houston Public Media last month. “There’s no other state where there’s such a convergence of ideology and money as Texas.”

Yet Paxton has been unable to draw enough financial support from his own constituents. The source article attributes that weakness to Texas donors finding his corruption and alleged adultery too repugnant to support his candidacy.

That fundraising failure is part of why Paxton is struggling in a state Trump carried by double digits in 2024. Polling compiled in FiftyPlusOne’s average shows Paxton trailing Talarico by more than 3 percentage points.

The polling average also shows a substantial share of voters who identify as Republicans defecting from Paxton and backing Talarico during this cycle. For Republicans trying to preserve the seat, those defections compound an already ugly campaign picture.

Paxton’s position has remained virtually unchanged since September, when the national Republican groups he has criticized began pouring hundreds of millions into the race to rescue his campaign. The spending has not produced the shift Republicans need.

Early voting in Texas is scheduled to begin Oct. 19, giving Paxton and the GOP almost no time to alter the contest’s direction. His rush to distance himself from the national Republican advertising operation looks like blame management arriving before Election Day.