2026-08-14T09:00:29.319Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/14/politics/ken-paxton-republicans-us-senate
在与共和党同僚缠斗多年并带头推动德州文化战争之后，肯·帕克斯顿如今的竞选活动围绕税收减免展开，他与曾投票弹劾他的州议员一同亮相，并公开向华盛顿政界求援以获取资金支持。
这一切都是帕克斯顿为团结党内力量所做的努力，此前他经历了一场激烈的初选，如今已转向大选阶段，目前他与民主党人詹姆斯·塔拉里科的民调结果不相上下。对于这位曾在州级选举中多次参与党内斗争的老将而言，如今打响这场可能决定美国参议院控制权的竞争性大选，实属不同寻常的处境。
德州共和党人正公开担忧三十年来首次输掉全州性选举。一直私下助力帕克斯顿结识捐赠者的参议员特德·克鲁兹近期表示，他预计这场选举“可能以一两票的差距定胜负”，这比克鲁兹2018年险胜民主党人贝托·奥罗克的局面还要胶着。知名保守派电台主持人迈克尔·贝里周二在采访帕克斯顿时直言，他正处于“一场艰难的竞选之中”。
“我知道存在诸多不满，我也听到了这些声音，”贝里对帕克斯顿说道，“帕克斯顿的竞选团队在做什么？获胜的路径是什么？我们来谈谈筹款吧。我知道筹款一直很困难。你击败了一名连任24年的参议员，显然得罪了不少人。外界存在一些担忧：你们是否有足够的资金来开展获胜所需的竞选活动？”
帕克斯顿近期已在德州奥斯汀和华盛顿的共和党群体中取得了显著进展，他近日到访华盛顿参加了一场筹款活动，参议院多数党领袖约翰·图恩及其他议员均出席了活动。但仍存在一个悬而未决的问题：华盛顿的共和党人究竟会为这场竞选投入多少外部资金，以及帕克斯顿和共和党能否足够团结，避免一场可能危及共和党对参议院控制权的失利。
“我们现在需要援助，”帕克斯顿在周日福克斯新闻的采访中说道，他暗示竞选团队正努力筹集足够资金，以便下月开始投放电视广告。
帕克斯顿在5月的初选中借助总统唐纳德·特朗普的最终背书，击败了资深参议员约翰·康恩，如今正努力巩固共和党人的支持。此次大选的特殊之处在于，康恩和民主党初选亚军、众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特都没有为各自党派的候选人积极助选。但民调显示，帕克斯顿在巩固本党选民支持方面落后于塔拉里科。
在初选中，仅有少数几名德州联邦众院共和党议员支持帕克斯顿对抗康恩，但周三帕克斯顿的竞选团队宣布，他目前已获得该州联邦众院代表团24名共和党议员中18人的背书，并表示这标志着“党内团结”。
塔拉里科长期以来一直以跨越党派界限的民粹主义经济主张作为竞选纲领。上周他在阿灵顿举办了一场制作精良的集会，为竞选定下基调，曾在2007年至2022年担任塔兰特县法官的共和党人格伦·惠特利为他介绍出场。
“我们面临负担能力危机，因为我们存在腐败危机，”塔拉里科在集会上说道，他指责“亿万富翁像买东西一样收买政客，肯·帕克斯顿就是其中之一”。
塔拉里科近期还通过赞扬康恩致信特朗普政府，表达对大弯曲国家公园边境墙建设的担忧，以此争取康恩的支持者。在帕克斯顿公布最新的国会背书后，塔拉里科的竞选团队发表声明，质疑为何德州仍有6名联邦众院共和党议员未表态支持帕克斯顿。该群体包括众议员迈克尔·麦考尔、丹·克兰肖和奇普·罗伊，这三人都将在今年卸任众议员职务。
“我认为（塔拉里科）有机会争取到一小部分（共和党）选民——而且他可能只需要这一小部分选民，”德州多数派政治行动委员会执行董事凯瑟琳·费舍尔说道。
塔拉里科比帕克斯顿提前数周启动电视广告投放，其盟友希望此举能帮助他抵御共和党即将加大的广告投入攻势。帕克斯顿曾警告支持者，塔拉里科早早开始“试图让人们相信他是一名温和派民主党人，但事实并非如此”。
根据AdImpact的数据，自初选以来，塔拉里科的竞选团队已在广告上花费2100万美元，而帕克斯顿的竞选团队仅花费10万美元。尽管预计共和党将在今年夏秋两季展开大规模广告攻势，但支持塔拉里科的超级政治行动委员会“孤星崛起PAC”尚未开始为他投入大额广告开支。该委员会在7月初的账户余额接近1300万美元。
德州和华盛顿的共和党幕僚认为，参议院领导基金——参议院选举中顶级的共和党超级政治行动委员会，曾在初选中不遗余力地试图击败帕克斯顿——以及手握4亿美元资金的亲特朗普超级政治行动委员会MAGA Inc.，最终都需要投入巨资助力帕克斯顿当选。
一名参与参议院竞选的全国性共和党战略家将当前局面比作《蜘蛛侠》中三个角色互相指向对方的三角场景。
“所有人都希望他获胜，但没人愿意率先出手，”这位战略家说道。
与图恩关系密切的参议院领导基金发言人在一份声明中表示，该集团“相信”帕克斯顿会获胜，但未就任何开支计划置评。
最高法院近期作出裁决，取消对候选人与政党之间协调开支的限制，这可能会对帕克斯顿尤为有利。美国全国共和党参议员委员会在回应此次报道的相关竞选问题时，援引了这项裁决。
“协调开支限制的取消意味着全国共和党参议员委员会可以直接与我们的候选人及其竞选团队讨论开支决策，”全国共和党参议员委员会发言人乔安娜·罗德里格斯在一份声明中说道，“向媒体和我们要击败的民主党人透露战略细节的时代已经结束。”
全国共和党参议员委员会主席、南卡罗来纳州参议员蒂姆·斯科特近期在接受CNN记者马努·拉朱采访时，对帕克斯顿的相关担忧不屑一顾。斯科特表示，共和党在这场竞选中的战略“强劲”，且将“获得充足的资金支持”。
至于MAGA Inc.，斯科特指出该组织近期已向参议院共和党人通报了中期选举计划。
“我们知道他们会全面参与进来，”斯科特说道。
帕克斯顿近日一直在宣传一项经济计划，提议新增并提高医疗、住房和儿童相关税收减免。在此过程中，他首次使用了与初选期间激烈的党派对抗截然不同的言辞。
“华盛顿正让人们比以往任何时候都更难过上好日子，随着住房、医疗等所有商品的成本上涨，美国梦正在渐行渐远，”帕克斯顿在发布经济议程的视频中说道。
诚然，帕克斯顿的竞选演说中仍不乏对塔拉里科的大量抨击，包括塔拉里科过往在社会问题上的争议言论，比如塔拉里科2021年宣称“上帝是非二元性别的”。
他在部分活动中，也曾由过去党内最大的批评者之一介绍出场。
其中一次是在达拉斯郊区艾伦的一场帕克斯顿竞选活动中，州众议员杰夫·利奇为他介绍出场。利奇曾称帕克斯顿是“老练的罪犯”，并在2023年带领德州众议院以多项滥用职权帮助捐助者的罪名发起对帕克斯顿的弹劾。德州参议院最终宣判帕克斯顿无罪。
部分共和党人转向支持帕克斯顿的过程相对顺利。全国边境巡逻委员会主席保罗·佩雷斯表示，转向支持帕克斯顿是“轻松且自然的转变”，因为该工会此前即便在支持康恩期间，就与帕克斯顿“有着长期合作关系”。
“归根结底，这场竞选比个人更重要，”佩雷斯说道，“我认为每个人都在思考：‘我们如何才能击败民主党提名人？’”
在初选中保持中立的德州顶级保守派捐赠者之一蒂姆·邓恩，在其政治生涯早期曾助力帕克斯顿，如今已重新开始支持他。由邓恩资助的一个超级政治行动委员会近期披露，将斥资10万美元发送短信，旨在反对塔拉里科。
呼吁共和党团结的声音甚至延伸到了德州共和党建制派的支柱组织“德州诉讼改革促进会”，帕克斯顿长期以来一直抨击该组织。
“无论共和党人之间存在何种分歧，与围绕强劲经济和消费者负担能力的常识性政策，与当今民主党急剧左倾的政策之间的鸿沟相比，都不值一提，”该组织首席执行官瑞安·帕特里克在一份声明中说道。
在全州范围内的官员中，州长格雷格·阿博特自初选以来率先动员共和党人，以“团结带来胜利”为口号开展竞选活动。一些共和党人希望阿博特资金充足的连任竞选活动能助力帕克斯顿。
并非所有共和党人都准备好支持帕克斯顿。沃斯堡市长马蒂·帕克曾支持康恩，作为重要摇摆县的高级民选官员，她目前仍在大选中保持中立，其发言人证实了这一点。
萨宾纳尔市（南德克萨斯州城市）市长埃里克·戈麦斯是初选中康恩的重要支持者，他尚未正式表态支持帕克斯顿。初选期间，戈麦斯质疑帕克斯顿在11月大选的获胜能力，并提及帕克斯顿的个人问题，包括其被指控的婚外情。
但戈麦斯表示，几周前帕克斯顿的竞选团队工作人员联系他后，他受到了鼓舞。他们计划近期会面。
“主动联系我是一个善意的姿态，也是一个好迹象，”戈麦斯说道，“我在社交媒体帖子和竞选活动中对这位总检察长并不留情。”
戈麦斯表示，他希望能与帕克斯顿的竞选团队讨论一些政策问题、获胜路径以及党内团结事宜。他指出，他仍看到“帕克斯顿的支持者对康恩的支持者进行攻击”。
“我个人希望这种情况能停止，”戈麦斯说道。
Ken Paxton tries to tamp down growing Republican concerns about his Senate campaign
2026-08-14T09:00:29.319Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/14/politics/ken-paxton-republicans-us-senate
After years of battling fellow Republicans and helping lead the culture wars in Texas, Ken Paxton is campaigning on tax deductions, appearing with state lawmakers who once voted to impeach him, and openly appealing to the Washington establishment for financial help.
It’s all part of Paxton’s efforts to unify his party after a bruising primary and pivot to a general election where he is already polling neck-and-neck with Democrat James Talarico. And it’s an unusual position for Paxton, a veteran of intra-party fights in state races now waging a competitive general election that could determine control of the US Senate.
Texas Republicans are openly worried about losing a statewide race for the first time in three decades. Sen. Ted Cruz, who has been working privately to introduce Paxton to donors, recently said he expected the race “could be decided by a point or two,” which would be tighter than Cruz’s close call against Democrat Beto O’Rourke in 2018. And Michael Berry, a prominent conservative radio host, opened an interview with Paxton on Tuesday by saying he is in “a tough race.”
“I know there is a lot of frustration. I hear it,” Berry told Paxton. “What’s the Paxton campaign doing? What’s the path to victory? Let’s talk about fundraising. I know that’s been difficult. You beat a 24-year incumbent, obviously stepped on a lot of toes. There’s been some concern. Will there be the money there to run the campaign it takes to win?”
Paxton has made significant inroads with Republicans in Austin and Washington, visiting DC recently for a fundraiser that was attended by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other members. But it remains an open question how much outside funding Washington Republicans will pony up for the race – and whether Paxton and the GOP can unite enough to stave off a loss that could endanger the party’s control of the Senate.
“We need help now,” Paxton said in a Fox News interview Sunday, suggesting his campaign was trying to raise enough money so it could start airing TV ads next month.
Paxton is working to shore up support from Republicans after he defeated longtime Sen. John Cornyn in a May runoff with a late endorsement from President Donald Trump. The general election is unique in that neither Cornyn nor Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Democratic primary runner-up, is actively campaigning for their party’s nominee. But polling shows it is Paxton who trails Talarico in consolidating support from his party’s voters.
Only a few House Republicans from Texas supported Paxton against Cornyn, but on Wednesday, Paxton’s campaign touted that he now had the backing of 18 out of the 24 Republican members in the state’s US House delegation – and that it signaled “unity.”
Talarico has long staked his campaign on a populist economic message that cuts across party lines. He sought to set the tone for the rest of the election with a slickly produced rally last week in Arlington where he was introduced by Glen Whitley, who was a Republican when he served as Tarrant County judge from 2007 to 2022.
“We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,” Talarico said at the rally, blaming “billionaires buying politicians like Ken Paxton.”
Talarico has also appealed to Cornyn supporters recently by praising the senator for sending a letter to the Trump administration raising concerns about border wall construction in Big Bend National Park. And after Paxton touted his latest congressional endorsements, Talarico’s campaign issued a statement questioning why six House Republicans from Texas were still withholding their support. The group includes Reps. Michael McCaul, Dan Crenshaw and Chip Roy, all of whom are leaving the House after this year.
“I think that (Talarico’s) got a chance with a small number of (Republican) voters – and he may only need a small number of voters,” said Katherine Fischer, executive director of Texas Majority PAC.
Talarico has had a weekslong head start on TV advertising that his allies hope will help inoculate him from any coming ramp-up in GOP spending. Paxton has warned supporters that Talarico has gotten off to an early start in “trying to convince people that he’s a moderate Democrat when he’s not.”
Talarico’s campaign has spent $21 million on ads since the runoff compared to $100,000 by Paxton’s campaign, according to AdImpact data. Even with an expected GOP ad blitz this summer and fall, a super PAC supporting Talarico, Lone Star Rising PAC, has yet to start seriously spending on his behalf. It had nearly $13 million in the bank heading into July.
GOP operatives in Texas and DC believe a group like the Senate Leadership Fund, the top GOP super PAC in Senate races that worked hard to try to defeat Paxton in the primary election, or MAGA Inc., the pro-Trump super PAC sitting on $400 million, will ultimately need to spend big to get Paxton over the finish line.
One national GOP strategist who works on Senate races likened the situation to three Spiderman characters pointing at one another in a triangle.
“Everybody wants him to win, but nobody wants to go first,” the strategist said.
A spokesperson for the Senate Leadership Fund, which is closely aligned with Thune, said in a statement that the group was “confident” Paxton would win but otherwise would not address any spending plans.
Paxton could be especially helped by the recent Supreme Court decision that struck down limits on coordinating spending between candidates and political parties. The National Republican Senatorial Committee pointed to that ruling when asked about the race for this story.
“The fall of coordinated spending limits means the NRSC can discuss spending decisions directly with our candidates and their campaigns,” NRSC spokeswoman Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement. “The era of raising the curtain on strategy for press and the Democrats we’re looking to defeat is over.”
The chairman of the NRSC, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, brushed off concerns about Paxton in a recent interview with CNN’s Manu Raju. Scott said the GOP’s strategy for the race is “strong” and that it would be “very well-funded.”
As for MAGA Inc., Scott noted the group recently briefed Senate Republicans on its plans for the midterms.
“We know that they’re going to be fully engaged,” Scott said.
Paxton has spent recent days campaigning on an economic plan that proposes new and increased tax deductions for health care, housing and children. In doing so, he has debuted rhetoric that is a stark departure from the red-meat sparring of the primary.
“Washington is making it harder than ever to get ahead, and the American dream is slipping away as the cost of everything, from housing to healthcare, rises,” Paxton said in a video unveiling the economic agenda.
To be sure, Paxton’ stump speech still features ample attacks on Talarico and his history of controversial comments on social issues, such as Talarico’s 2021 declaration that “God is nonbinary.”
He has been introduced at some events by some of his biggest intra-party detractors in the past.
One of them, at a Paxton stop in the Dallas suburb of Allen, was state Rep. Jeff Leach, who once called Paxton a “sophisticated criminal” and helped lead the 2023 impeachment against him in the Texas House on accusations of repeatedly abusing his office to help a donor. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton.
Some of the GOP converts to Paxton have been more seamless than others. Paul Perez, head of the National Border Patrol Council, said it was an “easy and natural transition” to Paxton because the union already had a “longstanding relationship” with him even while supporting Cornyn previously.
“At the end of the day, it’s bigger than a person,” Perez said. “I think that’s what everybody is looking at, is, ‘How can we defeat the Democratic nominee?’”
After sitting out of the primary, one of Texas’ top conservative donors, Tim Dunn, has started helping Paxton again after boosting him earlier in his political career. A super PAC funded by Dunn recently disclosed that it was spending $100,000 on text messages opposing Talarico.
The calls for Republican unity even extend to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a pillar of the GOP establishment in Texas that Paxton has long vilified.
“Whatever difference Republicans have with each other, they pale in comparison to the abyss between common-sense policies around a strong economy and pro-consumer affordability vs the sharp leftward swing of the modern-day Democratic Party,” the group’s CEO, Ryan Patrick, said in a statement.
Among statewide officials, Gov. Greg Abbott has taken the lead on rallying Republicans since the primary, campaigning on a slogan of “Unity Drives Victory.” Some Republicans hope the strength of Abbott’s well-funded reelection campaign will help Paxton.
Not all Republicans are ready to embrace Paxton. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker, a former Cornyn supporter and a top elected official in an important battleground county, remains neutral in the general election, a spokesperson confirmed.
Erik Gomez, mayor of the South Texas city of Sabinal and a prominent surrogate for Cornyn during the primary, is not ready to formally back Paxton. During the primary, Gomez questioned Paxton’s ability to win in November and highlighted his personal issues, including Paxton’s alleged extramarital affairs.
But Gomez said he was encouraged after a Paxton campaign staffer reached out a couple weeks ago. They plan to meet soon.
“That’s a sign of a good gesture and good faith, reaching out to me,” Gomez said. “I wasn’t easy on the attorney general in my posts and on my campaign trail.”
Gomez said he hoped he could speak with the Paxton campaign about some policy issues, its path to victory and unifying the party. He noted he still sees “Paxton supporters throwing jabs at Cornyn supporters.”
“I personally want to see that stop,” Gomez said.