Trump Flies to Houston to Bail Out Cash-Starved Ken Paxton

Money attracts two kinds of politicians. The first kind raises it. The second kind needs someone to fly in and beg for it on his behalf. Ken Paxton is the second kind.

Thursday night, Air Force One touched down at Ellington Field so the president could pass the collection plate for a man who cannot fill it himself. (cite index="1">Trump arrived in Houston to attend a private Republican National Committee fundraiser for Paxton, whose Senate campaign faces a nearly $60 million fundraising deficit against Democrat James Talarico. Read that number again. Sixty million. In a red state. For a Republican.

How bad is the hole? Historically bad. (cite index="2">Talarico had about $22 million in his campaign account at the start of July, to Paxton's $1.8 million. The reason is not mysterious. (cite index="2">Paxton said he had to spend all his campaign money in his primary battle against Cornyn. He torched his war chest knifing a fellow Republican, and now the cavalry has to ride in to cover the check.

The entry fee tells you who this is really for. (cite index="3">Entry to Thursday's fundraiser began at $10,000 per couple, with some donors paying more than $400,000 per couple, according to the New York Times. Four hundred grand to get in the room. And here is the kicker: the take does not even land in Paxton's account. (cite index="4">One Republican source told The Hill they expect the money from the event to go directly to the Republican National Committee. A cash-strapped nominee headlines his own rescue, and the proceeds route through the party. Classy.

The donor class knows exactly what it is buying, and it is holding its nose. (cite index="5">A Texas-based GOP consultant told ABC News that the vast majority of major Republican donors and business leaders in Texas don't like Paxton, and that he'd get a lot of uncomfortable questions. When your own tribe's moneymen have to be dragged to the table by the president himself, that is not a movement. That is a hostage situation with hors d'oeuvres.

Meanwhile the airwaves belong to the other guy. (cite index="6">Talarico has spent over $25 million on advertising since Paxton won the nomination, while the Paxton campaign spent $119,000, nearly all of it digital, meaning Talarico has essentially had the airwaves to himself. And it shows in the numbers that matter. (cite index="7">The latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll shows Talarico leading 42 percent to 39 percent, within a 2.83-point margin of error, with 14 percent undecided. (cite index="8">Two months ago the same poll had Paxton in the lead. The floor is moving under him. (cite index="9">Last week the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted the race to a toss-up.

Remember who is asking for your trust here. This is a man (cite index="10">whose office was found civilly liable for whistleblower retaliation, with a judge ordering Texas taxpayers to pay $6.6 million to four former top deputies who reported him to the FBI. This is the man (cite index="11">who dodged a nine-year felony securities fraud case only by agreeing to community service, ethics courses and $271,000 in restitution weeks before trial. This is the man (cite index="12">whose own wife filed for divorce on biblical grounds, accusing him of adultery, an allegation he denied.

So here is where it stands. A scandal-battered attorney general, broke in the reddest big state in America, needs the president to fly in and shake down four-hundred-thousand-dollar couples just to stay competitive against a schoolteacher. The receipts are public. The polling is slipping. And the donors don't even like him. MUCK YOU, Ken. Pass the plate.