三是一个趋势，关于德克萨斯州参议员提名人肯·帕克森（Ken Paxton）竞选的泄密已经超过了这个阈值。
Three is a trend, and the leaks about Texas Senate nominee Ken Paxton’s campaign have more than hit that threshold.
周四，《德克萨斯论坛报》（Texas Tribune）公布了帕克森的音频，内容是他表示美国需要“硬着头皮”削减联邦项目，这是同一筹款活动的更多泄露，该活动还引发了帕克森对油价、对自己竞选缺乏控制以及共和党中期大会压低他支持率的抱怨。
On Thursday the Texas Tribune published audio of Paxton saying the US needs to “suck it up” and cut federal programs, more drips from the same fundraiser that elicited Paxton’s complaints about gas prices, lack of control over his own campaign, and the Republican midterm convention depressing his numbers.
“帕克森一直依赖他的基础选民和强大的全州票房来帮助他冲线。他从未在这个层面上操作过，也不理解为帮助他赢得这场比赛而付出的巨大努力，”前参议院领袖基金（Senate Leadership Fund）超级政治行动委员会负责人史蒂文·劳（Steven Law）对Semafor说。
“Paxton has always relied on his base and a strong statewide ticket to carry him across the finish line. He’s never played anywhere near this level and doesn’t understand the magnitude of effort being expended on his behalf to try to win this race,” Steven Law, former leader of the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, told Semafor.
德克萨斯州共和党参议员约翰·科宁（John Cornyn）对帕克森说：“和大狗一起跑时必须更小心。”共和党人并不认为这些言论会对帕克森的竞选造成致命政治打击，但这些泄密并没有帮助——它们只会加剧人们对这场紧张参议院选举中共和党内部混乱的印象。
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said of Paxton: “Got to be more careful when you run with the big dogs.”Republicans don’t see any of P remarks as politically fatal to Paxton’s campaign, but the leaks are not helpful — they only contribute to perceptions of GOP disarray in a tight Senate race.
全国共和党参议院竞选委员会发言人乔安娜·罗德里格斯（Joanna Rodriguez）对塞马福尔网站（Semafor）表示，共和党人需要“穿上战袍跟我们一起战斗，或者去观众席上和‘塔拉怪咖’（Talafreakos）一起吃豆腐”。
National Republican Senatorial Campaign spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez told Semafor that Republicans need to “put your jersey on and fight with us or go sit in the stands enjoying tofu with the Talafreakos.”
本周的民调继续显示，民主党候选人詹姆斯·塔拉里科（James Talarico）对帕克斯顿（Paxton）保持微弱领先或打平，对于现代共和党发源地的共和党人来说，这是一个令人揪心的结果。唐纳德·特朗普总统于周三晚上与帕克斯顿一同出席了集会，随后提议让帕克斯顿与塔拉里科进行辩论——这促使该民主党人迅速同意并表示：“我同意。球在你的场地上，肯。”
Polls this week have continued to show Democratic nominee James Talarico with a slight lead or tied with Paxton, a harrowing result for the GOP in the home state of the modern Republican Party. President Donald Trump rallied with Paxton on Wednesday night, then offered Paxton up for a debate with Talarico — prompting the Democrat to quickly agree and say: “I agree. Ball’s in your court, Ken.”
当然，共和党人对这一切早有预料，他们砸下巨资帮助科宁（Cornyn）在初选中击败帕克斯顿，理由是科宁在大选中的胜算会相对轻松。但事情并非如此，特朗普背书了帕克斯顿，现在共和党人表示，他们需要表现得像整个多数席位都在德克萨斯州悬于一线一样——因为这很可能就是现实。
Republicans saw all this coming from a mile away, of course, spending huge sums to help Cornyn defeat Paxton in the primary, reasoning that the general election would be a relative layup for Cornyn. But that didn’t happen, Trump endorsed Paxton, and now Republicans say they need to act like the entire majority is on the line in Texas — because it very well might be.
罗德里格斯说：“为德克萨斯州的未来而战的只有两支队伍：一支是由素食主义者和激进分子组成、想要禁止肉类、重新开放边境并让你的孩子变性的队伍，另一支则是拥有与对方立场全面抗衡的辉煌战绩的共和党队伍。”
“There are only two teams fighting for Texas’ future: the one with vegans and radicals who want to ban meat, reopen our borders, and transition your kids or the Republican team with a proven record fighting everything the other stands for,” Rodriguez said.