Groups tied to billionaire megadonor George Soros and failed candidate Beto O’Rourke are picking up the tab for Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a GOP redistricting plan, according to The Texas Tribune.
Since Sunday, dozens of Texas House Democrats have taken refuge in blue states such as Illinois to deny the state House a quorum needed to pass a new congressional map that could net Republicans up to five additional seats. The absent democrats face a $500 fine for each day they are absent, but O’Rourke’s Powered by People PAC and the Soros-backed Texas Majority PAC are covering much of the cost, according to The Texas Tribune.
Since the Texas House Democrats fled the Lone Star State, Powered by People has directed all donations towards supporting the effort, according to the Texas Tribune. O’Rourke’s political outfit has reportedly paid for lawmakers’ expenses, including travel, including private flights, hotel rooms, meals and logistical support, a source familiar with the matter told the outlet.
O’Rourke personally called lawmakers in recent weeks, urging them to flee the state to block the GOP redistricting efforts, The Texas Tribune reported.
Meanwhile, the Texas Majority PAC is reportedly coordinating with national Democratic groups to court the party’s biggest donors to fund the lawmakers’ ongoing absence. The PAC is bankrolled by Soros and was founded by alumni of O’Rourke’s failed 2022 gubernatorial campaign.
Texas Majority spent over $9 million during the 2024 election cycle, with nearly two-thirds coming from Soros, according to the Texas Tribune. Despite significant spending in the state, former Vice President Kamala Harris lost Texas to President Donald Trump by nearly 14 points in 2024, and Sen. Ted Cruz defeated Democratic Rep. Colin Allred by 8.5 points.
Most of the Texas Democrats are hunkering down in the heavily-gerrymandered state of Illinois, protected by billionaire Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The governor said on Tuesday that he has not yet financially supported the Democrats, but is “not reticent to do that.”
On Sunday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott warned in a letter sent to the absent Democrats that fundraising to cover fines associated with their absence could be a violation of Texas House rules and bribery laws. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton followed up on Wednesday by launching an investigation into Powered by People for “potentially operating an illegal financial influence scheme to bribe runaway Democrats.”
“Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable,” said Paxton. “Texas cannot be bought. I look forward to thoroughly reviewing all of the documents and communications obtained throughout this investigation. These jet-setting runaways have already lost public trust by abandoning our state, and Texans deserve to know if they received illegal bribes to do it.”
O’Rourke told The Texas Tribune that he would “have the backs of these heroic state lawmakers for as long as it takes to stop Trump’s power grab.”
“Every dime of expense for this effort is being paid for lawfully,” a spokesperson for the Texas House Democratic Caucus told The Texas Tribune, but declined to provide further details.
This is not the first time Powered by People has backed a similar effort, according to The Texas Tribune. In 2021, the group reportedly raised $600,000 to help fund Texas Democrats’ trip to Washington, D.C., as part of an effort to block Republican-backed election integrity measures.
Neither Powered by People nor Texas Majority responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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