Democratic lawmakers in Texas are leaving the state in a last-ditch bid to prevent Republicans from further gerrymandering their congressional map at the request of President Donald Trump. If successful, the GOP’s redistricting effort could potentially give the party an additional five seats in the 2026 midterms.
Facing the possibility of arrest under the orders of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, as well as steep financial penalties for their absence, 30 Texas Democrats have fled the state to Chicago, Illinois. Their absconding will deny the state legislature the necessary quorum needed to maintain a legislative session, a strategy they used (to no great effect) when Republicans aggressively gerrymandered the state’s maps in 2021.
“The choice was clear: Stand by while Abbott silences millions of Black and Latino voters, or use every tool available to stop this assault on our democracy. This corrupt special session is over,” Texas House Democrats wrote Sunday afternoon in a statement on X.
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) threatened to forcibly return the lawmakers to the capitol. “Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately. We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law,” he wrote on X. State Republicans have rushed through what is supposed to be a once-in-a-decade redistricting process under the cover of a special session, with little time for public review.
With Trump and Republicans looking to maintain their majority in Congress through redistricting in Texas, Democrats have in turn begun considering redistricting efforts in Democratic-led states, such as California and Colorado, as a countermeasure.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin told News Nation on Sunday that “we’re going to fight fire with fire. If Texas wants a showdown — which they clearly do — we’re going to give them the showdown. And I talked with a number of Democratic governors around the country and they’re already preparing to follow suit here.”
Texas state representative and chair of the House Democratic Caucus Gene Wu said on Sunday that “this is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,”
“We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent,” he said. “As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
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