The leaks from Ken Paxton’s private fundraiser in Washington, D.C., keep spilling into public view, and each new recording makes his campaign look more miserable. One donor who does not support Paxton has been gradually releasing audio clips from the event.

The New York Times and Politico previously published covertly recorded audio in which Paxton criticized President Donald Trump’s midterm convention. He also trashed the Washington operatives running his campaign messaging.

Axios then published audio featuring Paxton’s blunt explanation for his campaign’s troubles. “It’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” Paxton told the donors.

Paxton focused on the financial pressure created by fuel costs. “When it’s over $6 per gallon for diesel … people are feeling the pinch,” he said.

He also argued that surging gas prices carry broader inflationary consequences because higher fuel costs “drives up food prices and everything else.” Paxton called the rising cost of living “by far our biggest problem” and “why we’re having a hard time with numbers.”

For once, Paxton’s assessment was at least partially honest and correct. The cost of living is hurting Republicans across the country, leaving the party scrambling to protect Senate races in deep red states including Kansas and South Carolina.

But Paxton’s political problems extend well beyond the economy Trump has damaged while Republicans stood by. His campaign is also burdened by a uniquely toxic reputation that has alienated the Republican donor class and even voters within the GOP base.

Paxton is running behind in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the Senate in more than 30 years. His corruption and moral bankruptcy have left major Republican donors appalled and unwilling to rally behind his candidacy.

That rejection has made fundraising difficult even in Texas, home to wealthy oil and gas industry leaders who routinely provide money for Republican campaigns nationwide. The usual GOP cash machine is not exactly roaring into action for Paxton.

Many of those donors supported his primary opponent, longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn. Their anger has persisted since Trump intervened at the eleventh hour to support Paxton, helping the state attorney general win a May runoff.

Other Republican candidates may be offering similarly frank private evaluations of the midterms. Their remarks, however, are not steadily landing in the press through recordings supplied by a disgruntled donor.

GOP donors appear especially furious that Paxton’s nomination is forcing the party to spend hundreds of millions to rescue his struggling campaign. That money could have been directed to other contests on a midterm map that has become increasingly alarming for Republicans.

The spending has not produced the desired turnaround. Paxton’s polling remains grim even as the party pours money into a race Republicans presumably did not expect to become such an expensive headache.

Some political strategists believe the leaks could be preparing the ground for Republicans to abandon Paxton’s campaign. Public exposure of his private complaints could provide national Republicans with political cover if they decide to withdraw financial support and redirect resources elsewhere.

Conservative columnist Matt Lewis described that possibility in a post on X. “Every day another leak. It feels like the groundwork is being laid for Republicans to abandon Ken Paxton and attempt a triage,” he wrote.

The polling offers little comfort for Paxton or the donors watching Republican money disappear into Texas. Since the GOP began dumping cash into the contest, Paxton has fallen further behind rather than gaining ground.

Paxton now trails Democrat James Talarico by nearly 4 points in the FiftyPlusOne average. The average places Talarico at 48.8%, compared with 45.1% for his Republican opponent.

The recordings have therefore exposed more than Paxton’s complaints about war, fuel prices, inflation, Trump’s convention, and campaign operatives. They have revealed a Republican candidate whose donors are angry, whose polling is deteriorating, and whose own private analysis keeps reaching the public one embarrassing clip at a time.