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. 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 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. 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.
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