Two groups, one linked to former Democrat Texas State Representative Robert “Beto” O’Rourke and another funded by George Soros, are supporting the truant Democratic lawmakers as Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other GOP members redouble their efforts to push through a new congressional map.
The more than 50 Texas House Democrats who fled the state Sunday are facing a mounting fine of $500 for every day they miss the special session, on top of the cost of travel on a private CommuteAir plane, food, and lodging in Democratic strongholds like Illinois.
For many of the absent Democrats, their $7,200 salary is not enough to cover the penalty and expenses. As a result, O’Rourke’s PAC “Powered by People” is footing many of those bills, The Texas Tribune reported.
O’Rourke’s PAC, which is worth roughly $3.5 million, began setting aside cash from the moment that it came out that Texas Republicans were meeting to discuss a possible mid-decade redistricting effort. Currently, 100% of the donations to O’Rourke’s PAC go toward paying off those bills.
The failed Democratic presidential, gubernatorial, and senatorial candidate travelled to a few other states in recent months, hoping to build up support for an anti-Trump movement and gather donations for his PAC.
At a rally in Kansas City, O’Rourke said, “In the last six months, since he was sworn into office, the current president of the United States … has sought at every turn to dismantle this democracy.” O’Rourke continued by warning that the MAGA movement “[would] go on steroids after the 2026 election if we fail to stop them now.”
O’Rourke’s group is not the only local Democratic committee hoping to maintain the decamping lawmakers. Texas Majority PAC, a group heavily funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros, is coordinating a national fundraising campaign to fund the cause, two people with knowledge of the internal dynamics told The Texas Tribune.
The Texas Majority PAC recently launched a new initiative called “Blue Texas,” which aims to transfer seats from Texas GOP members to Democratic candidates through volunteer efforts and fresh, new candidates, The Wall Street Journal reported. Funding the absconding of these Democratic lawmakers appears to be in line with that mission.
These efforts by Soros and O’Rourke come as Abbott and other GOP members continue to issue threats against the absent lawmakers, trying to get a few to return to meet the quorum requirements of 100 representatives. Since more than 50 of the state’s 150 representatives are absent, the vote cannot continue.
In a lawsuit aimed at forcing the representatives to return to the vote, or face possible arrest, Abbott wrote, “What is at stake here? Nothing less than the future of Texas. If a small fraction of recalcitrant lawmakers choose to run out the clock today, they can do so for any, and every, Regular or Special Session, potentially bankrupting the State in an attempt to get their way.”
The suit added that, “If representatives are free not to show up whenever they choose, then Texans simply do not have a representative government. In fact, they don’t have a functioning government at all. This Court should make clear that a legislator who does not wish to perform his duties will be stripped of them.”
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) also asked for the FBI’s assistance in locating “the out-of-state Texas legislators who are potentially acting in violation of the law” in a Tuesday letter, citing potential bribery charges, the outlet reported.
President Trump weighed in on Tuesday, saying that Republicans “are entitled to five more seats.”
”We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas,” Trump told CNBC. “I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”
