Ken Paxton Reports Seven Homes, No Rental Income And Three Missing Mortgages

AUSTIN—Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a federal financial disclosure that values his net worth somewhere between $1 million and $27 million, a range large enough to include the information voters received and much of the information they did not.

Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, reported seven homes that produced no income. ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found that six had been advertised for rent during the reporting periods, and residents or neighbors confirmed renters at some addresses. Three federal ethics experts told the news organizations that receiving rental income without reporting it would violate disclosure law. The form has therefore achieved transparency while preserving the suspense.

The filing also omitted $1.3 million in mortgages on three condominiums at a Utah golf resort. Land records describe the loans with addenda used for rental properties. A separate vacant parcel outside Fort Worth appeared on Paxton’s earlier disclosure at a value of no more than $50,000, although his business partner said Paxton’s share had long been worth about $1 million. This year, the reported value moved to between $1 million and $5 million without requiring the land to move at all.

Paxton declined an interview and did not answer detailed questions about the forms. His campaign said the allegations were partisan and pointed to his successful private-sector career. Federal rules also exempt personal residences and properties that generate no income, which makes the definition of personal property especially valuable when one owns several of them.

Voters now have the essential facts. Their Senate nominee is worth at least $1 million, perhaps $27 million, owns properties that may or may not produce the rent for which they were offered, and carries mortgages that did not burden the disclosure. Public accounting has become another Texas property right.