Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX) had a chance to respond to two significant controversies swirling around his Senate campaign Tuesday. He chose not to, and then left the room.
The scene unfolded at a press conference Paxton had organized around law enforcement, with more than a dozen sheriffs in cowboy hats standing nearby.
When a reporter began asking about a recent New York Times investigation into Paxton's real estate portfolio, Paxton cut him off before the question was finished.
"So Jack, can we keep this to law enforcement today?" Paxton said, steering the conversation away from the topic.
The reporter pushed back, saying he was allowing Paxton to respond. Paxton held firm, saying he was there to discuss law enforcement matters and would only take questions on that subject.
Moments later, the same reporter raised a second issue, reporting that Paxton had cast votes using an address where he no longer lived. A staffer moved to end the exchange almost immediately, and Paxton began leaving the room, appearing visibly uneasy.
Attention to Investigation
The two issues have drawn considerable attention in recent weeks. Investigative reporting found that Paxton, who earns a government salary of $153,000 per year and has served as attorney general since 2015, has accumulated a real estate portfolio spanning multiple states, including properties in Texas, Florida, Utah, Oklahoma, and Hawaii, with a combined estimated value of roughly $9 million.
A significant portion of the holdings are organized through blind trusts, which limit public visibility into his full financial picture.
Separately, reporting found that Paxton, who has been a prominent voice on election integrity issues and has raised concerns about voter fraud, cast ballots in six elections over two years using an address he was not living at during that time.
Paxton is the Republican Senate nominee and will face Democrat James Talarico (D-TX) in November, where his competitor is already emphasizing the investigation.
His campaign has been focused on drawing contrasts with Talarico's record. Still, Tuesday's press conference suggested the attorney general may face continued scrutiny over his own record before voters go to the polls.
