Rand Paul Takes Page From Sharron Angle's Playbook, Evades Reporter (VIDEO)

Republican candidate Rand Paul, who's vying capture Kentucky's open U.S. Senate seat, appears to be taking a page out of fellow Tea Party-backed contender Sharron Angle's playbook on media strategy.

Earlier this week, Paul sat down for a Fox News interview in attempt to dispel allegations that he forced a female friend "to take bong hits," among other changes, during the years he was enrolled as a student at Baylor University.

After taping the segment at a Lexington, Ky. affiliate, the GOP hopeful declined an invitation to discuss the controversy with reporters at the local outlet.

The video below shows Paul attempting to justify his refusal to answer further questions about the controversy that came to light in a recent GQ profile.

(Angle, who is running to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada, also opted against taking questions from reporters at what was supposed to be a media-friendly event last month.)

WATCH: Rand Paul Runs From Kentucky Press