Beto O’Rourke on Tuesday called Ken Paxton a “corrupt, lying thug,” after the attorney general said O’Rourke should be “locked up” for defying a judge’s order.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is escalating the partisan redistricting fight by asking a judge to hold progressive activist Beto O'Rourke in contempt.

A Texas judge temporarily barred O'Rourke's group last week from raising or spending funds to aid Democrats who fled the state on redistricting.