Texas Democrats have allegedly found a “roundabout” way to pay for votes in the critical Senate and governor’s races, according to an undercover video published Wednesday.
A Democratic operative with Texas Majority PAC admitted in the new footage released by the conservative outlet Townhall that the group is shelling out $25 per person for attendance at Zoom classes that discuss “bad things” Republicans are doing.
“We are paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all of these bad things,” said Sky MacAdams, an organizing manager for Texas Majority PAC.
“So it’s like a roundabout way of paying people for their votes, essentially,” he added, calling the move a bit of a “gray” area.
Federal law prohibits payments in exchange for voting or not voting for certain candidates, with violators potentially facing up to two years in prison.
The paid relational program, as its known, compensates low-propensity voters “for their time as they reach, persuade, and mobilize their friends and family to vote,” according to the website for Relentless, a political consulting firm.
“You can’t pay someone to vote for someone,” MacAdams also noted. “You can’t be like, ‘Here’s $25, go vote for me.’ You can say, ‘Attend a one-hour class and you can receive $25.’”
McAdams added: “If I was a Republican, I would be pissed. I would be like, that’s shady as f–k.”
Reps for Texas Majority PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The group paid $500,000 to Relentless for its Relational Organizing Program in May of this year, according to a state campaign finance report.
It’s spent more than $2.4 million in 2026 helping to mobilize voters for statewide, US House and the US Senate contests.
President Trump was also accused of trying to buy votes in the midterm elections by promising $5,000 dividend checks if Republicans maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) accused Trump of “trying to bribe the American people for their votes” after the president announced his intention at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last week.
Texas Senate Democratic candidate James Talarico called the Trump checks an “election year stunt.”
Talarico’s opponent and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has accused the Democratic challenger of doing the same after the Texas Majority PAC scheme surfaced.
