Resurfaced footage shows Ken Paxton returning to Austin in February 2021—just after the winter storm that left millions of Texans without power and water—declining to answer questions about the deadly freeze or his plans for ERCOT. Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, had traveled to Utah for what his campaign called a “previously planned” trip while 2.7 million Texas households remained without power. His trip drew far less attention than Ted Cruz’s much higher-profile flight to Cancún just days earlier, which dominated headlines and led to calls for his resignation. Paxton now owns five homes in Utah—the first of which he purchased months after that Feb. trip, in July 2021.
