Beto O'Rourke's political group funding Texas Democrats fleeing state to prevent quorum: report

Former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke's political group is reportedly covering the expenses of state Democrat lawmakers who have left town to prevent a GOP-led vote on redrawing congressional district maps.  

The departure of the 57 Texas House Democrats leaving the state has resulted in the chamber nor having enough members to hold any voting. 

Republicans are trying to pass a new congressional map to give them an opportunity to pick up five House seats in the 2026 midterms. 

The Texas Democrats left their state for Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, with most of them ending up in Chicago by taking a private plane from CommuteAir, The Texas Tribune reported. In addition to having to pay for lodging and meals, the lawmakers face a daily fine of $500 for each day that they miss the special legislative session.

O'Rourke's political group, Powered by People, has $3.5 million and has been covering much of costs, a person involved in the fundraising told the Tribune.

Texas Majority PAC, a group backed by Democratic megadonor George Soros, is working with national Democratic groups to solicit fundraising from the party’s regular big-dollar donors, according to the news outlet's two unnamed sources.

Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott warned that the state Democrats could face felony charges for fundraising to cover their fines, which cannot be paid “from funds accepted as political contributions,” according to state House rules adopted by Republicans in 2023 after an earlier Democratic quorum break.

Abbott told the absent Democrats in a letter sent Sunday that lawmakers who are “soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules” may be violating bribery laws, and that anyone who donates to the cause could also be liable.

Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn asked the FBI to help locate “the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law” in a Tuesday letter, citing potential bribery charges.

Democratic Texas state Rep. Gina Hinojosa called the fines “unconstitutional” and an excessive punishment for participating in a quorum break that “gives us the chance to best defend and represent our constituents.” Fellow state Democrat Rep. Ana Hernandez said that the lawmakers were “using the tools at our disposal, which is a quorum break, to fight and advocate for our communities.”

A Texas House Democratic Caucus spokesperson said, "Every dime of expense for this effort is being paid for lawfully."

O’Rourke promised in a statement to “have the backs of these heroic state lawmakers for as long as it takes to stop Trump’s power grab,” referring to President Trump's push for the redrawn congressional map.

Powered by People also helped finance Texas Democrats' quorum break in 2021, when they fled to Washington, D.C., in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop Republicans from passing election laws. The group raised $600,000 that year for the quorum break.

O’Rourke has also been calling Texas lawmakers over the past few weeks, asking them to leave the state to block the break quorum, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Powered by People has used all of its donations for the fleeing House Democrats since their departure.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help resource this,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said in Illinois Tuesday with some Texas Democrats. “It’s time that the Democratic Party and all people who care about democracy support them in these efforts.”