Texas Democrats fled their state Sunday in an audacious attempt to block Republicans in the legislature from enacting a new congressional map.
The state lawmakers decamped to Illinois and New York. Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois held a press conference with them following their arrival at O’Hare International Airport. A second group of Texas Dems will appear this morning with New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in Albany.
Texas Republicans advanced a redistricting proposal that created five new red seats. Republicans currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts. The full Texas House is expected to vote on that plan this week — unless they can’t meet the attendance requirements to take legislative action.
The Texas Democrats could remain out of the state until the current special session ends. The session began on July 21 and can last for no longer than 30 days. Of course, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott could always call another one.
To deny a quorum, 51 Texas House Democrats must leave the state. They’ll face fines for being absent and the threat of arrest.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote on X that he supports the “immediate arrest” of those Democrats who fled. Paxton is running in the GOP primary against Sen. John Cornyn.
Abbott then went a step further, announcing that he’d attempt to remove from office any Democrat who doesn’t return to Austin by 3 p.m. today. But it’s not clear if there’s even a path for Abbott to do this. A court would have to make the final determination.
Democrats respond: National Democrats have urged state lawmakers to take the strongest possible measures to thwart Republicans’ mid-decade redistricting attempt.
Texas Republicans are taking up the new map before addressing relief measures for the deadly July 4 flooding. Texas Democrats cited that in their reasoning for fleeing the state.
“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement. “Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump.”
Yet this also complicates the optics behind Democrats’ departure. Their absence delays the passage of both flood relief and redistricting.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who traveled to Texas last week to appear with state Democrats, praised their decision to leave the state in order to block the new congressional map.
“The courage, conviction and character Texas Democrats are displaying is the embodiment of good trouble as we collectively push back against the extremism Donald Trump has unleashed on the American people,” Jeffries said in a statement Sunday night. “We have their backs.”
The stakes: Democrats only have to win a handful of seats to take back the majority. Jeffries has already met with California Democrats as they’ve discussed redrawing their congressional map in order to pick up as many as a half dozen seats.
This isn’t the first time Texas Democrats have left the state to try to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort.
In 2003, at the urging of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), Texas Republicans redrew their map. At that time, more than 50 Texas Democrats fled to Oklahoma when the new map was put forward. Texas Democratic state senators later fled to New Mexico.
But these Democratic efforts eventually failed, and Texas Republicans were able to pass a new map. In 2004, Republicans won five more House seats, giving them a majority in the congressional delegation for the first time.
