Texas AG Launches Investigation Into Super PAC Activity
Well, it looks like Beto O’Rourke’s political hobby shop just got a big, flashing “Under Investigation” sign courtesy of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
On Wednesday, Paxton launched a probe into Powered by People, the PAC Beto runs that’s been bankrolling around 50 Texas Democrats — the same Democrats who famously bolted from the Lone Star State to block a vote on redrawing congressional maps.
Paxton’s suspicion? That these runaway lawmakers may have been getting more than just moral support for their mid-flight escape. “Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable,” Paxton declared. He didn’t just issue that warning in a press release — he broke the news live on Newsmax’s The Chris Salcedo Show, saying the investigation kicks off immediately.
BREAKING: I just launched an investigation into Beto O'Rourke's radical group for unlawfully funding runaway Democrats.
Any Democrat coward breaking the law by taking a Beto Bribe will be held accountable. pic.twitter.com/PV2IdwNOBd
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 6, 2025
The AG says his office is sending questions to Powered by People right away, digging into potential violations of campaign finance laws, bribery statutes, and abuse of office. “Depending on what those answers are, we’ll find out whether we have something to investigate,” Paxton told Salcedo — which is political-speak for “I’m already sharpening the knives.”
For those keeping score, Powered by People bills itself as a grassroots organizing machine aimed at turning Texas blue, focusing on “competitive Texas battleground districts” and building “long-term changes to the Texas electorate.” Translation: it’s Beto’s vehicle for keeping Democrats competitive in a state that’s still solidly Republican territory.
The backdrop here is one of the wilder episodes in recent Texas politics — that 2021 walkout where state Democrats chartered planes to Washington, D.C., to deny Republicans the quorum they needed to pass an election integrity bill.
They framed it as a heroic stand for democracy; critics called it an all-expenses-paid vacation. Now, if Paxton’s hunch is right, there might have been more than just free plane rides involved.
The investigation is in its early stages, but the political theater is already set: a Republican AG known for bare-knuckle politics taking aim at Texas Democrats’ most visible cheerleader, with allegations of bribery and illicit funding swirling in the air. And if Paxton finds proof that taxpayer trust was traded for Beto’s bankroll, the fallout could get very ugly — very fast.