Brian Kilmeade Says Ken Paxton 'Got Lazy' and Is a 'Whiner' in Texas Senate Race

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade said on Wednesday that Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in Texas's Senate race, "got lazy" after winning his primary. He called him "a whiner" for complaining in private about the party's Washington operation.

The criticism comes from a host who still backs Paxton. On the same broadcast of The Brian Kilmeade Show, Kilmeade called Paxton a "really good Attorney General, very loyal to Trump" and said he "probably would be a really good Senator." His complaint is with the campaign, not the candidate's politics. Four weeks before Election Day, Republicans are spending heavily to hold the seat.

Brian Kilmeade on Ken Paxton's Campaign

Why is Ken Paxton even losing?" Kilmeade asked. He said Paxton beat Senator John Cornyn "even without Trump's endorsement." (President Donald Trump endorsed Paxton before the runoff, which Paxton then won.)

"But then he got lazy. He's not even campaigning. He's not good on the stump. He's not good fighting for his own case," Kilmeade said.

His account of an idle campaign leaves out some of the record. Paxton raised $18 million in the third quarter, the most he has raised in any quarter.

What the Leaked Paxton Audio Shows

The recordings come from a private fundraiser in Washington. In audio reported by Fox 4, Paxton said of Trump's midterm convention: "it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped."

Paxton adviser Nick Maddux called the report "manipulated nonsense from the New York Times," which first reported the audio.

Karl Rove Calls Texas a 'Coin Toss'

Karl Rove, the former George W. Bush strategist, told Kilmeade later in the show that "it's a coin toss." In the last 24 hours, it's $5 million."

Polling shows why the party is spending. PolitiKool's polling average has Talarico at 47.2 percent and Paxton at 43.6 percent, a 3.6-point Democratic lead, as the chart shows. A poll released by Paxton's campaign has him ahead, 48% to 45%, Fox 4 reported.

Kilmeade's verdict was simpler: "It's too close to call."

What to Watch in the Texas Senate Race

Lowry called Texas "the keystone" because a Talarico win would mean "the map unlocks for Democrats," and said "Texas is really the one we should be watching closely." That fits the wider Senate map, where control is a toss-up. Republicans are also defending closer-than-expected seats in Kansas and Nebraska.

The election is Nov. 3. Whether Paxton spends the final month in front of Texas voters, or leaves the race to the Washington operation he complained about, may decide whether Kilmeade's warning is remembered.