Ken Paxton held a rare press conference. He refused to answer questions

In a rare press conference on Tuesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton dodged questions about recent reporting that he may have violated election laws and about luxury condos he bought in Utah.

The Republican U.S. Senate candidate appeared in Fort Worth to tout endorsements from 22 sheriffs and sought to tie his Democratic opponent, state Rep. James Talarico, to efforts to defund police departments. 

READ MORE: Texas Tech donors gave big to Ken Paxton as he defended ex-QB Brendan Sorsby

"He voted against tightening bail restrictions for violent and repeat offenders. He voted against mandatory minimum sentences for human smugglers. He voted against designating the Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations." Paxton said. "That is one of the most anti-law enforcement records in the history of Texas."

But things took a turn when he opened the press conference up to questions from reporters. 

Paxton refused to answer a question about a New York Times report that he recently bought three condominiums at a luxury resort in Utah worth more than $1 million. 

"We're here with the sheriffs, I'd like to keep things to law enforcement," Paxton said. "That's what I'm going to answer." 

He also dodged the next question, about a report by the Texas Tribune that Paxton may have illegally voted by using an old address on his voter registration rather than his current home - even as he has sought to crack down on voter fraud from his attorney general post. 

The Senate race is one of the most watched and hotly contested of the cycle. Talarico has hit Paxton hard on corruption allegations, including the recent reporting regarding his wealth and voting. 

"Ken Paxton just refused to answer basic questions about reports he committed voter fraud and expanded his real estate portfolio to 15 properties on a government salary – because he has no answers for his corruption," said Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis. 

The attorney general won a GOP primary against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who hammered him over similar problems and argued the baggage would drag him down in a general election. 

Paxton, who was impeached on corruption charges by the Texas House but acquitted by the state Senate, has cast himself as a political survivor akin to President Donald Trump.

The attorney general doesn't hold many public events, and takes questions from the press even more rarely. He also used Tuesday's press conference to boast about his office's effort to curb sex trafficking.

"Over the last several years, we have also worked to develop new tools to help law enforcement beat modern challenges," Paxton said. "Our office created this specialized section to provide additional resources, expertise and coordination so that local law enforcement can more effectively investigate trafficking organizations. 

The Chronicle previously reported Paxton's office failed to close many cases.

Subscribe

Read this story on houstonchronicle.com