2026-10-09T09:00:45.417Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
肯·帕克斯顿曾公开表示，在得克萨斯州参议院竞选激烈的共和党初选决选后，他“非常希望”获得约翰·科恩的支持。但私下里，帕克斯顿已对这位即将卸任的参议员与他的竞选活动保持距离感到沮丧。
据一名反对帕克斯顿的活动参与者向CNN提供的录音显示，这位得克萨斯州总检察长在上个月的一场筹款活动中说道：“他显然没有提供帮助。他希望我落选。”
尽管帕克斯顿在决选后已弱化了对科恩的批评，但这番私下言论表明，两人长期存在的紧张关系仍在搅动这场竞选。目前，全国共和党人正全力以赴帮助帕克斯顿击败民主党州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科。民调显示选情胶着，共和党人已得克萨斯州参议院大选投入了逾1亿美元。自1994年以来，得克萨斯州从未选出过民主党籍全州公职人员，但如今该州对共和党保住参议院多数席位的希望至关重要。
“他希望我落选”：帕克斯顿在泄露音频中抱怨科恩未提供支持
来源：CNN
据两名知情人士透露，帕克斯顿是在9月24日华盛顿的一场集会期间发表上述言论的，当时有人向他问及塔拉里科在初选中击败的民主党众议员贾斯敏·克罗克特。CNN获得的录音开头，帕克斯顿似乎在提及尚未为塔拉里科助选的克罗克特，称他不“清楚她到底能在多大程度上影响选票”。
“我的意思是，也许在边缘地带会有一点影响，就像科恩一样，基本上他能对我产生多大影响，”帕克斯顿说道。
在说出科恩希望他落选后，帕克斯顿提到了他所称的一名朋友在达拉斯一家餐厅与这位参议员的近期偶遇。帕克斯顿说，这位朋友为科恩的餐桌点了甜点，并试图感谢他“支持共和党候选人名单”以及“支持肯·帕克斯顿”，而科恩的反应十分愤怒。
“科恩的脸涨得通红，他后退了一步，”帕克斯顿说道。“他说：‘帕克斯顿会落选的。我们需要给那些共和党人一个教训。这个教训很难吸取，但他们需要知道，自己的决定会产生后果。’”
“这就是他正在做的事，”帕克斯顿说。“这就是约翰·科恩。”
CNN尚未独立证实帕克斯顿的说法，科恩的代表罗布·杰斯默告诉CNN，餐厅里的对话并未发生。
“如果科恩参议员希望肯落选，我可以向你保证，他会更积极地参与竞选，”曾长期担任科恩政治顾问的杰斯默说道。“他已经表示会支持共和党候选人名单。考虑到肯所说和所做的一切，我认为科恩参议员的立场已经相当不错了。”
当被问及对这段录音的置评时，帕克斯顿的竞选团队将其斥为“不存在的故事”，但同时指出帕克斯顿“已经致电、发短信，并提出要与科恩参议员进行对话”。
“和所有得克萨斯人一样，帕克斯顿总检察长感谢他为孤星州数十年的服务，”帕克斯顿的高级顾问尼克·马杜克斯在一份声明中说道。“我们希望他能加入我们的行列，为捍卫美国参议院这一机构而战，帮助保住我们的多数席位。”
举办这场筹款活动的两名说客克里斯·布林森和苏珊·希施曼未回应置评请求，塔拉里科的竞选团队也未回应。
克罗克特的发言人卡罗尔·里马尔在一份声明中表示，与科恩不同，她在自己的初选失利后采取了不同的做法。
“科恩是现任参议员，仍在攻击本党的候选人，”这位发言人说道。“克罗克特已于3月4日支持塔拉里科，自那以后从未停止为全国范围内的民主党人助选。”
帕克斯顿与包括前科恩支持者在内的本党基础选民之间的矛盾，一直笼罩着竞选的最后几周。
据《Punchbowl News》报道，帕克斯顿竞选团队周二发布的一份备忘录告诉支持者，“我们面临的最大挑战是在经历激烈的初选后巩固共和党人的支持”。
福克斯新闻上月末开展的一项民调显示，近三分之一的共和党可能选民对帕克斯顿持负面看法。尽管他获得了90%的共和党选民支持，但约五分之一的“非‘让美国再次伟大’”共和党人将票投给了塔拉里科。
CNN获得的这段录音至少是上月筹款活动泄露的第五段录音，使帕克斯顿的竞选团队在竞选最后几周陷入守势。此前的几段录音显示，帕克斯顿称共和党中期代表大会对他的政治形象造成了损害，还表示由于外部团体承担了大部分开支，他感觉自己“失控”了竞选活动。
曾在初选期间支持帕克斯顿的唐纳德·特朗普总统表示，他对得克萨斯州的竞选“感到担忧”，但在被问及这些录音时基本回避了话题。他周三表示，自己不会后悔当初的背书。
“我一点也不会后悔，”特朗普在椭圆形办公室对记者说道。
这位总统周三晚间前往圣安东尼奥参加一场为帕克斯顿举办的集会，称赞他是“美利坚合众国最伟大的总检察长之一”。
科恩与帕克斯顿之间的不和由来已久。
曾于1999年至2002年担任得克萨斯州总检察长的科恩，长期以来明确表示，他认为帕克斯顿玷污了这一职位，并举例说明了共和党人不自律会带来什么后果。帕克斯顿则反唇相讥，称科恩是得克萨斯州共和党政治旧时代的遗物，尤其是在科恩在2022年推动通过两党枪支安全法案之后。
2022年帕克斯顿面临竞争激烈的连任初选时，科恩并未发表背书声明，但称帕克斯顿长期以来面临的州证券欺诈指控是“一桩丑闻”。该案最终在两年后以和解告终，帕克斯顿同意完成社区服务并支付赔偿金。
2023年帕克斯顿在州参议院弹劾审判中被判无罪，审判焦点是他滥用职权帮助一名捐赠者的指控。此后不久，他就在接受前福克斯新闻主持人塔克·卡尔森的胜利采访时暗示可能会在2026年挑战科恩。“一切都在考虑之中，”他在审判结束几天后说道。
“想从监狱里参选可不容易，肯，”科恩在2024年2月的社交媒体帖子中说道，当时帕克斯顿呼吁得克萨斯人在2026年选举新的参议员。
否认所有不当行为的帕克斯顿于2025年4月宣布参选，承诺“把约翰·科恩赶下台”。科恩及其盟友团体斥资数千万美元针对帕克斯顿投放恶毒的负面广告，其中一些广告曝光了他的不忠指控。科恩在初选中以微弱优势领先帕克斯顿，但未获得足够支持以避免与帕克斯顿进行决选。
“我绝不允许像肯·帕克斯顿这样有缺陷、自私自利且无耻的候选人，冒险毁掉我们多年来辛苦建立的一切，”科恩在初选之夜说道，并补充道，“审判日即将降临肯·帕克斯顿。”
但特朗普最终另有打算。他在决选前一周背书了帕克斯顿，对科恩及其阻止这位 fellow 共和党人的希望造成了致命打击。在特朗普看来，帕克斯顿体现了现代共和党存在的诸多问题。
科恩长期以来承诺无论初选结果如何，都会支持“共和党候选人名单”。但自初选失利以来，他一直避免帮助帕克斯顿，有时甚至直言不讳地表达对这位候选人及其所属党派派系的不满。
这位参议员在8月接受《得克萨斯论坛报》采访时，批评帕克斯顿是“糟糕的竞选者”和“懒惰的”候选人。科恩和前总统乔治·W·布什上月在达拉斯为六场摇摆州的共和党参议院竞选候选人举办了一场筹款活动——但并未邀请帕克斯顿。
科恩拒绝背书帕克斯顿，惹恼了一些得克萨斯州共和党领导人，包括该州特朗普的核心盟友、副州长丹·帕特里克。帕特里克在6月初选决选后暗示，科恩是“破坏我们政党的输不起的人”。
与此同时，塔拉里科一直在争取那些在共和党初选中支持科恩的选民。他上月告诉CNN，他希望“不辜负”科恩的政治遗产，并欢迎现任参议员的支持者“加入我们正在开展的这场运动”。
这位民主党人的竞选团队甚至在夏季聘请了科恩办公室的一名前工作人员。在党内一些反对声中，科恩为这位工作人员的举动进行了辩护，他在X平台上表示：“那些担忧的人或许应该将精力转向扩大共和党影响力。”
一些初选期间支持科恩的知名人士仍不愿投票给帕克斯顿。
“我会支持政党，但他不是我的第一选择，我确实认为这会对下议院选举产生影响，”得克萨斯州众议员迈克尔·麦考尔上月告诉CNN。“我确实认为有些共和党人……可能根本不会投票，这就是危险所在。”
帕克斯顿在争取党内对手方面取得了一些进展。初选决选后的几周里，他在竞选活动中得到了州众议员杰夫·利奇的支持，后者在初选中背书了科恩，并在2023年针对帕克斯顿的弹劾案中担任领导人。
然而，一些得克萨斯州共和党人仍担心共和党选民可能会直接跳过这场选举。肯·帕克斯顿分居的妻子安吉拉·帕克斯顿在最近一次向共和党女性团体发表的演讲中谈到了这种可能性，敦促她们为了政党的利益放下对特定候选人的保留意见。
“如果你无法支持某人，那就投票反对，但一定要投票，”她说道。
‘He wants me to lose’: Paxton complains about lack of support from Cornyn in leaked audio
2026-10-09T09:00:45.417Z / CNN
Ken Paxton has publicly said he would “love to have” John Cornyn’s support after their bruising Republican primary runoff in the Texas Senate race. But privately, Paxton has grown frustrated with the outgoing senator’s distance from his campaign.
“He’s clearly not helping. He wants me to lose,” the Texas attorney general said at a fundraiser last month, according to an audio recording obtained by CNN from an attendee who opposes Paxton.
While Paxton has minimized his criticism of Cornyn following their runoff, the private remarks demonstrate how their long-running tensions continue to roil the race, coming as national Republicans mount an all-out effort to help Paxton defeat Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. With polls showing a tight race, Republicans have poured well over $100 million into the general election in Texas, a state that has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994 but is now critical to Republican hopes of holding a Senate majority.
‘He wants me to lose’: Paxton complains about lack of support from Cornyn in leaked audio
Source: CNN
Paxton made the comments at a September 24 gathering in Washington after receiving a question about Rep. Jasmine Crockett, the Democratic congresswoman whom Talarico defeated in his primary, according to two sources familiar with the discussion. The recording obtained by CNN begins with Paxton apparently referencing Crockett, who has not campaigned for Talarico, saying he does not “know how much she really affects votes.”
“I mean maybe a little bit around the margins, just like Cornyn, basically how much he affects me,” Paxton said.
After saying Cornyn wants him to lose, Paxton pointed to a recent encounter that he said a friend had with the senator at a Dallas restaurant. Paxton said the friend bought Cornyn’s table dessert and sought to thank him for “supporting the ticket” — and for “supporting Ken Paxton” — and Cornyn reacted angrily.
“Cornyn’s face went red. He backed off,” Paxton said. “He said, ‘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.’”
“That’s what he’s trying to do,” Paxton said. “That’s John Cornyn.”
CNN has not independently confirmed Paxton’s account, and a Cornyn representative, Rob Jesmer, told CNN that the conversation at the restaurant did not happen.
“If Sen. Cornyn wanted Ken to lose, I can assure you he’d be more active in the campaign,” Jesmer, a longtime political strategist for Cornyn, said. “He has said he supports the Republican ticket. Given all Ken has said and done, I think that’s a pretty good place for Sen. Cornyn to be.”
Asked for comment on the audio, Paxton’s campaign dismissed it as “a story that doesn’t exist” but noted that Paxton “has called, texted, and offered to have a conversation with Senator Cornyn.”
“Like all Texans, General Paxton appreciates his decades of service to the Lone Star State,” Paxton senior adviser Nick Maddux said in a statement. “We hope he will join us in our fight to preserve the institution that is the United States Senate and help save our majority.”
The two lobbyists who hosted the fundraising event, Chris Brinson and Susan Hirschmann, did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Talarico’s campaign.
A spokesperson for Crockett said she has taken a different approach than Cornyn since losing her own primary.
“Cornyn is the sitting senator and continues to attack his party’s nominee,” the spokesperson, Karrol Rimal, said in a statement. “Crockett endorsed Talarico on March 4th and has not stopped working to support Democrats across the nation since.”
Paxton’s problems with his own base, including former Cornyn supporters, have loomed over the final weeks of the race.
A Paxton campaign memo dated Tuesday, reported by Punchbowl News, told supporters that the “biggest challenge we face is shoring up Republicans following a bruising primary.”
A Fox News poll done late last month found that nearly a third of Republican likely voters had an unfavorable opinion of Paxton. While he was winning 90% of GOP voters, about a fifth of “non-MAGA” Republicans were breaking for Talarico.
The clip obtained by CNN is at least the fifth recording that has leaked from the fundraising event last month and put Paxton’s campaign on the defensive in the final weeks of the race. Previous clips have featured Paxton saying the GOP’s midterm convention damaged him politically and that he feels like he has lost “control” over his campaign as outside groups have handled most of the spending.
President Donald Trump, who backed Paxton in the primary, has said he is “worried” about the Texas race but largely declined to address the recordings when asked about them. He said Wednesday he was not second-guessing his endorsement.
“I would have no regrets at all,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
The president visited San Antonio on Wednesday night for a rally with Paxton where he praised him as “perhaps the greatest attorney general in the United States of America.”
The bad blood between Cornyn and Paxton goes back years.
Cornyn, who served as Texas attorney general from 1999 to 2002, has long made clear that he believes Paxton has disgraced the office and served as an example of what happens when Republicans do not police their own. Paxton has dished it back, painting Cornyn as a relic of a bygone era of Republican politics in Texas, especially after Cornyn ushered through a bipartisan gun safety law in 2022.
When Paxton faced a competitive primary for reelection in 2022, Cornyn did not make an endorsement but said Paxton’s long-running indictment on state securities fraud charges was an “embarrassment.” The case finally ended two years later with a deal where Paxton agreed to do community service and pay restitution.
After Paxton was acquitted in a state Senate impeachment trial in 2023, which centered on allegations he abused his office to help a donor, he wasted little time teasing a potential run against Cornyn in 2026. “Everything’s on the table,” he told former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a triumphant interview days after the trial.
“Hard to run from prison, Ken,” Cornyn said in a February 2024 social media post after Paxton called for Texans to elect a new senator in 2026.
Paxton, who denies all wrongdoing, launched his campaign in April 2025 with a promise to “send John Cornyn packing.” Cornyn and allied groups unleashed tens of millions of dollars of bitter, negative ads against Paxton, some of them highlighting allegations of infidelity. Cornyn finished narrowly ahead of Paxton in the primary but did not earn enough support to avoid a runoff against Paxton.
“I refuse to allow a flawed, self-centered and shameless candidate like Ken Paxton to risk everything we’ve worked so hard to build over these many years,” Cornyn said on primary night, adding, “Judgment Day is coming for Ken Paxton.”
But Trump ultimately had other plans. He endorsed Paxton a week before the runoff, dealing a crushing blow to Cornyn and his hopes of stopping a fellow Republican who, to him, embodied much of what is wrong with the modern GOP.
Cornyn had long promised to support the “Republican ticket” regardless of the outcome of the primary. But since losing, he has avoided helping Paxton and even leaned into his frustrations with the nominee and his wing of the party at times.
The senator criticized Paxton as a “poor campaigner” and “lazy” candidate in an August interview with the Texas Tribune.Cornyn and former President George W. Bush headlined a fundraiser in Dallas last month for six Senate GOP candidates in battleground races – but not Paxton.
Cornyn’s refusal to endorse Paxton has annoyed some Texas GOP leaders, including Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a top Trump ally in the state. Patrick suggested in June, following the primary runoff, that Cornyn was part of “sore losers undermining our party.”
Talarico, meanwhile, has sought to appeal to people who supported Cornyn in the GOP primary. He told CNN last month that he hopes to “live up to” Cornyn’s legacy and that he welcomes the incumbent’s supporters to “join this movement we’re building.”
The Democrat’s campaign even hired a former staffer in Cornyn’s office over the summer. Cornyn defended the staffer’s move amid some intraparty backlash, saying on X that “those concerned might want to channel their energy into broadening R[epublican] outreach.”
Some prominent supporters of Cornyn from the primary continue to show reluctance about voting for Paxton.
“I’m supporting the party, but he was not my first choice, and I do think it’s going to have an impact down-ballot,” Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas told CNN last month. “And I do think there are Republicans … that may just not vote, and that’s the danger.”
Paxton has made some headway with his intra-party opponents. In the weeks after the primary runoff, he was joined on the campaign trail by state Rep. Jeff Leach, who endorsed Cornyn in the primary and served as a leader in the 2023 impeachment case against Paxton.
Yet some Texas Republicans continue to worry that GOP voters could simply skip the race. Ken Paxton’s estranged wife, Angela Paxton, addressed that possibility during a recent speech to a group of GOP women, urging them to set aside their reservations with any particular candidate for the good of the party.
“When you can’t vote for, then vote against,” she said, “but vote.”