Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) launched a probe Wednesday into a PAC funding approximately 50 Democrats who fled the Lone Star State in order to block a vote on redrawing congressional maps.
The PAC is led by former Democrat Rep. Beto O’Rourke. The group, called Powered by People, possibly violated laws on campaign finance, bribery, and abuse of office, Paxton said.
“Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable. 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,” Paxton stated.
BREAKING: I just launched an investigation into Beto O'Rourke's radical group for unlawfully funding runaway Democrats.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 6, 2025
Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/PV2IdwNOBd
Paxton also announced the investigation on Newsmax’s “The Chris Salcedo Show.”
“I'm announcing on your show that we are going to start the investigation today of Robert O'Rourke's Power by the People, or whatever he calls it — his PAC. And we're going to find out if they've done anything inappropriate, whether it's a bribe or whether if some type of other campaign finance laws were broken,” Paxton told the outlet.
“Our questions for the organization will be sent out today. And depending on what those answers are, we'll find out whether we have something to investigate,” Paxton continued.
According to its website, Powered by People focuses on organization to help Democrats win in “competitive Texas battleground districts.” It is also “focused on creating long-term changes to the Texas electorate that will outlast any one candidate or campaign cycle.”