This material was originally published by Reform Austin.

Graphic by Reform Austin.

A political and legal dispute between Texas attorney general Ken Paxton and former congressman Beto O’Rourke has erupted into one of the most consequential rivalries in recent Texas history, with possible implications for the 2026 U.S. Senate race, and the future of voter mobilization efforts in the state.

At the center of the controversy is Powered by People , O’Rourke’s political organization, which donated more than $1 million to Texas Democrats during a special session, on August 16, to reject Republican’s controversial redistricting bill.

According to The New York Times , in recent weeks, Paxton has launched a legal campaign accusing the group of violating consumer protection laws and improperly fundraising to support what he calls “runaway Democrats.” His office has issued a restraining order to block O’Rourke’s fundraising activities. Paxton even asked a Texas court to consider jailing O’Rourke for “contempt of court”.

“The Beto Bribe buyouts that were bankrolling the runaway Democrats have been officially stopped,” Paxton said in a statement , referring to a Tarrant County court order, in Fort Worth, that temporarily froze certain fundraising activities -– raising and spending money — by O’Rourke’s group.

But the legal maneuvering has started a backlash, not just from O’Rourke and his affiliates, but from members of the judiciary as well. In El Paso, a court issued a competing restraining order against Paxton himself, and ordered him to sit for a deposition.

O’Rourke, who has not yet publicly declared his candidacy, is expected to run for Senate in the democrat party, claims Paxton’s actions are politically motivated.

Paxton is “doing this because I’m a potential political opponent of his in the contest for the U.S. Senate seat in Texas,” O’Rourke stated, as reported by The New York Times . “The point isn’t to win in court. It’s to drag us through enough litigation to bankrupt the most effective voter registration program in the state.”

So far, Attorney Paxton’s attempts to bankrupt Powered by People has been promising. O’Rourke’s organization has spent close to $400,000 fighting the lawsuits, almost $100,000 per week. 

The legal battle is unfolding right after the recently passed Republican-drawn congressional map , which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott after Democrats fled the state to delay the vote. Paxton’s investigation into O’Rourke’s group started afterward.

“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,” Paxton said in a Newsmax interview . “And depending on what those answers are, we’ll find out whether we have something to investigate”.

The courtroom has highlighted deep divisions within Texas’s legal system. A new appellate body, the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, created by Republicans to handle cases involving statewide officials, temporarily blocked the Tarrant County ruling against O’Rourke. Paxton then turned to the Texas Supreme Court, but the high court declined to intervene.

Paxton posted on X , accusing the appellate court of being a “Beto-loving” judicial body, undermining state authority.

“What we are witnessing in Texas right now is a constitutional crisis being,” Paxton wrote. “What’s worse is that the Texas Supreme Court just made a ruling refusing to stop the appeals court’s insane decision to help Beto.”

Meanwhile, O’Rourke continues to hold fundraising events across the state. Paxton’s office has responded by asking for O’Rourke to be held in contempt and jailed, unless he complies.

A hearing on the contempt motion is pending, and the appeals court has requested further arguments from Paxton’s office by early next week.

With Senator John Cornyn potentially facing a primary challenge from Paxton, and O’Rourke possibly entering the race as a Democratic representative. Both sides are preparing for a drawn-out conflict that could reshape not only the electoral landscape for the 2026 Senate race.