Texas AG Paxton Privately Flags War-Driven Gas Prices as Risk to GOP Midterm Hopes

Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general running as the Republican candidate in a competitive U.S. Senate race, privately acknowledged that rising fuel prices tied to the war with Iran — not tariffs — are the biggest problem confronting his party ahead of the midterm elections, according to a leaked audio recording shared with Axios.

Speaking at a closed-door fundraising event, Paxton was asked what issues were weighing on his campaign. "It's not tariffs … it's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel," he said, according to the recording.

The remarks represent a rare admission from a sitting Republican official that the economic fallout from the war with Iran, including higher costs at the pump and for diesel fuel, is becoming a political liability for the party as it heads into a pivotal midterm cycle.

Paxton is seeking the Republican nomination in one of the cycle's most closely watched Senate races. His comments add to a growing body of evidence that affordability concerns, particularly around energy prices, are shaping voter sentiment and complicating messaging for Republican candidates nationwide.

The recording is the latest in a series of leaked campaign conversations to surface this election cycle, underscoring how sensitive internal assessments of economic conditions have become for Republican strategists ahead of November.