Beto O’Rourke PAC donated more than $1 million to Democrats during redistricting battle

(The Texas Tribune) — Former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke announced on Saturday that his political group, Powered by People, donated more than $1 million to Texas Democrats during a special session in which they walked out to deny Republicans the quorum they needed to pass new congressional maps.

In the announcement, O’Rourke said that “more than 55,000 donations” poured in from people across the country since the start of the first special session called by Gov. Greg Abbott.

The money from his political group benefited the Texas Legislative Black Caucus, the Texas House Democratic Caucus, and the Mexican American Legislative Caucus.

Abbott’s first special session, which ended Friday, didn’t have a quorum for the past two weeks because most of the House’s 62 Democrats left the state to prevent proposed redistricting aimed at securing more GOP seats in Congress. He immediately called a second special session.

Last week, a Tarrant County District Judge Megan Fahey sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, temporarily blocking Powered by People from fundraising for Democrats or financially supporting the quorum break.

Paxton on Tuesday argued in a motion that O’Rourke had violated the temporary injunction. He asked the judge to imprison O’Rourke for the duration of the lawsuit, and to fine the Democrat $500 for each alleged violation of the injunction.

O’Rourke filed his own lawsuit against Paxton earlier this month after being sued by the attorney general. He’s asking a judge to block Paxton’s investigation into Powered by People and alleges that he engaged in a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”

In 2021, when Democrats broke quorum and left the state to prevent a bill that sought to tighten voting rules, which eventually became law, Powered by People donated around $600,000 to help pay for their expenses, including lodging, travel, and meals. That was before the House passed new rules in 2023 imposing a $500-per-day fine on lawmakers who leave the state during sessions and said they aren’t allowed to use campaign funds to pay the penalties.