得克萨斯州共和党参议院候选人肯·帕克斯顿（Ken Paxton）上个月在一次会议上私下抱怨伊朗战争和汽油价格对其竞选活动的影响。据Axios获得的录音显示，他对一群捐赠者和游说者表示：“这些决定不是我做的。”
Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton privately lamented the impact of the Iran war and gas prices on his campaign in a meeting last month, telling a group of donors and lobbyists, "I don't make the decisions," according to audio obtained by Axios.
为何重要：这是一位特朗普亲密盟友的坦率承认，揭示了共和党人在本届选举周期中面临的严峻环境。
Why it matters: It's a candid admission from a close Trump ally about the challenging environment Republicans face this cycle.
- 得克萨斯州总检察长帕克斯顿当时正在华盛顿特区的一场闭门募捐会上对捐赠者和游说者发表讲话。这段录音由一位在场人士提供给Axios。由于活动是私密的，且该人士反对帕克斯顿，因此其身份未公开。
• Paxton, the Texas attorney general, was speaking to donors and lobbyists at a closed-door fundraiser in Washington, D.C. The audio was provided to Axios by a person, granted anonymity because it was a private event, who was in the meeting and is opposed to Paxton.
- 特朗普总统定于周三在圣安东尼奥与帕克斯顿共同举行集会。
• President Trump is set to rally with Paxton in San Antonio on Wednesday.
新闻驱动因素：当一名与会者询问哪些议题正在“拖累”他的竞选时，帕克斯顿回应道：“不是关税。……是战争，是汽油价格，是柴油。”这是根据Axios获得的一份录音文件所述。
Driving the news: Asked by one attendee what issues are "dragging" on his campaign, Paxton responded, "It's not tariffs. ... It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel," according to an audio file obtained by Axios.
- 他继续说道：“当柴油价格超过每加仑6美元时……人们感到了压力。”他补充说，燃料成本的上涨“推高了食品价格和其他一切东西的价格”。
• "When it's over $6 per gallon for diesel ... people are feeling the pinch," he continued, adding that the rising cost of fuel "drives up food prices and everything else."
- 这位共和党候选人表示，可负担性是“我们目前最大的问题”，也是“我们在民调数字上遇到困难的原因”。
• The Republican candidate said affordability is "by far our biggest problem" and "why we're having a hard time with numbers." Paxton pointed
帕克斯顿指出他的减税计划——包括新的住房和医疗保健扣除项目以及扩大儿童税收抵免——是他为解决可负担性问题提出的方案。
to his tax cut plan— which includes new housing and health care write-offs and an expansion of the child tax credit — as his proposed remedy on affordability.
- 他说：“我只是在想办法帮助人们。这是唯一的方法：我可以提出立法建议。”
• "I'm just trying to figure out ways I can help people. That's the only way: I can propose legislation," he said.
- 当一名与会者提出帕克斯顿“无法阻止战争”时，这位候选人回应说“没错”，并表示他“对汽油价格没有控制权”。
• When an attendee posited that Paxton "can't stop the war," the candidate responded "right" and said he has "no control over gas prices."
- 他补充道：“在这场联邦选举中，有太多因素是不可控的。我不做决定，我也不……知道某些决定背后的原因。”
• "So many factors in this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions, and I don't ... know what's behind some of the decisions," he added.
各方怎么说：“这根本算不上什么‘新闻’；司法部长说的不过是每个德克萨斯人早已知道的事实：汽油和柴油的价格太高了，勤劳的德克萨斯人在加油站和杂货店都面临着巨大的经济压力，”帕克斯顿的竞选团队成员告诉Axios。
What they're saying: "This is a non-story. The Attorney General said what every Texan already knows: gas and diesel prices are too high, and hardworking Texans are struggling at the pump and at the grocery store," a Paxton campaign person told Axios.
- “特朗普总统正在竭尽全力降低物价，而肯·帕克斯顿将前往华盛顿，通过为家庭减轻经济负担来帮助他。”
• "President Trump is doing everything he can to bring prices down, and Ken Paxton is going to Washington to help him by putting money back in families' pockets."
背后的隐含信息：据《纽约时报》和Politico获得的另一段音频显示，帕克斯顿在同一场会议上表示，特朗普在达拉斯举行的中期选举集会“损害了我们的选情”，并且竞选活动的控制权“完全掌握在华盛顿方面”。
Between the lines: Paxton said in the same meeting that Trump's midterm convention in Dallas "dropped our numbers," and that control of the campaign is "all coming ... from D.C.," according to separate audio obtained by The New York Times Politico
当前局势：帕克斯顿正在与民主党州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科展开竞争；他在5月的初选决选中击败了共和党参议员约翰·科宁（来自德克萨斯州）。民调显示，塔拉里科目前略微领先。如果他获胜，他将成为自20世纪80年代以来首位当选为美国参议员的民主党人。
State of play: Paxton is facing off with Democratic state Rep. James Talarico after unseating Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in a May primary runoff • Polls of the race have largely shown Talarico narrowly leading. He would be the first Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since the 1980s.
- 多年来，帕克斯顿一直是特朗普最忠实的盟友之一。尽管共和党参议员们恳请特朗普支持科宁，但特朗普还是在初选中支持了帕克斯顿。
• Paxton has for years been one of Trump's most loyal allies. Trump returned the favor in the primary by endorsing Paxton despite Senate Republicans' pleas for him to back Cornyn.