What Ken Paxton alleges about John Cornyn in leaked audio

Texas has been full of leaks in the buildup to the midterm elections, with the latest recording obtained by CNN purportedly exposing the strained relationship between Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Senator John Cornyn, who lost his bid for reelection to Paxton in the Republican primary.

In the audio, Paxton alleges that Cornyn privately wants him to lose the November 3 election to Democrat James Talarico. Cornyn’s camp strongly denies the Texas attorney general’s claim.

What Paxton Claimed Cornyn Said

According to CNN, Paxton told supporters at a private fundraiser that a friend had recently encountered Cornyn at a Dallas restaurant and thanked the senator for continuing to support the Republican ticket after the primary. Paxton then recounted what he said Cornyn’s response had been.

“And Cornyn’s face went red,” Paxton said, according to CNN’s account of the recording. Paxton then alleged that Cornyn told the friend: “Paxton’s gonna lose. We need to teach those Republicans a lesson. It’s going to be hard to learn, but they need to know that their decisions have consequences.” Paxton added: “That’s what he’s trying to do. That’s John Cornyn.”

CNN reported that it did not independently verify the alleged restaurant conversation.

Cornyn’s Camp Denies the Story

Cornyn’s spokesperson told CNN that the restaurant conversation described by Paxton never occurred.

Rob Jesmer, longtime political strategist for Cornyn, rejected the suggestion that the senator wants Paxton to lose. “If Senator Cornyn wanted Ken to lose, I can assure you he’d be more active in the campaign,” he told CNN. “He has said he supports the Republican ticket. Given all Ken has said and done, I think that’s a pretty good place for Senator Cornyn to be.”

Newsweek reached out to Jesmer for comment Friday.

What Cornyn Has Said Publicly About Paxton

The leaked recording comes after months of public tension between the two Republicans following their bitter primary battle. Cornyn told The Texas Tribune in August that Paxton was a “poor campaigner.”

Cornyn has also notably withheld a formal endorsement of Paxton’s Senate bid despite saying he supports the Republican ticket.

A Flood of Leaks in Texas

Paxton was heard on leaked audio obtained by Politico complaining that he has little control over his U.S. Senate campaign, saying key decisions and messaging are being directed from Washington, D.C.

“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.,” Paxton said, in part, at a private fundraiser last month.

He also said in the leaked audio that securing votes in Texas “comes down to your messaging, which in a federal race comes from other people a lot of times, which you don’t control.”

The New York Times also previously published leaked audio that it said revealed Paxton telling conservative donors and lobbyists that the midterm Republican National Convention in Dallas last month had damaged his campaign.

In the audio, someone asks, “Do you feel like [Trump’s] a little bit of a drag?” to which the man purported to be Paxton replies: “So to be honest with you, the numbers, when we did that convention, it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”

In response to the remarks, Nick Maddux, senior Paxton adviser, told reporters: “This is more manipulated nonsense from The New York Times to create a story that doesn’t exist.”

In audio obtained by Axios, Paxton reportedly said privately that rising fuel prices as a result of Donald Trump’s Iran war were hurting his party before the midterms.

Asked what issues were “dragging” his campaign at a closed-door fundraising event, Paxton replied, “It’s not tariffs … it’s the war, it’s gas prices, it’s diesel,” according to an audio recording shared with Axios.

“When it’s over $6 per gallon for diesel … people are feeling the pinch,” he added.

In audio reported by The Texas Tribune, Paxton suggested that lawmakers would “have to suck it up” and make cuts to mandatory federal spending programs, including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, to help close the national deficit.

James Talarico Returns to Campaign Trail

Talarico returned to the campaign trail Friday, after taking some time off, reportedly with the flu.

Republicans started making “MISSING” posters with Talarico’s picture on them, and questioned why he chose to reappear at the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

“James Talarico skipped out on the Hispanic business leaders, canceled on the Central Texas African American Civic Engagement Symposium, and tried to pass off old content as new. He doesn’t get to reappear like nothing happened after ghosting the 31 million Texans he wants to represent for two weeks. The “flu” didn’t stop him from meeting with New York billionaires and Hollywood elites, or from partying with celebrities at a music festival most working Texans don’t have the luxury of attending, especially after taking two weeks off work. Must be nice after two weeks of PTO,” Paxton posted on X late Friday.

Will Talarico and Paxton Debate?

Talarico has held a narrow lead or been in a dead heat with Paxton in recent polls. alarming Republicans in what has been a GOP stronghold state. Texas hasn’t elected a Democrat to a U.S. Senate seat since 1988.

Paxton and other Republican nominees in Texas are avoiding debates. Talarico has been calling for one with Paxton for months. He publicly challenged the state attorney general in July to three televised debates. He said that Paxton’s “handlers claim he’s willing to debate, but every time a reporter asks a question, he literally runs away.” Last month, Talarico invited Paxton to debate him on Fox News.

Trump said this week that Paxton should debate Talarico.

For more analysis from us on the numbers shaping U.S. politics and the 2026 midterms, sign up for Newsweek‘s Midterms Monitor newsletter.

Newsweek’s reporters and editors used Martyn, our AI assistant, to produce this story. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kate Nalepinski and Edward T. Cummins