Texas Democrats Leave the State to Block GOP Congressional Map
A group of Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday, activating their emergency plan to block a hastily-drawn Republican congressional map that’s poised to set off a national redistricting battle between red states and blue states.
Republicans have raced through the unusual mid-decade redistricting process, redrawing lines in an attempt to deliver five more GOP seats to help the party hold onto its narrow majority in the U.S. House in 2026 – all at the White House’s request. Texas Democrats have little power to stop the gerrymander, but by leaving the state, they’re using the one tool they have to block it, with a vote scheduled for Monday.
“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 Sunday.
House Republicans have sped through a very abbreviated redistricting process – holding just one public hearing for the entire state after the map was released.
Republicans on the House Redistricting committee passed the map Saturday to send it to the floor.
Wu slammed Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for pushing the redistricting plan forward before passing legislation in response to the deadly July 4 floods in Central Texas.
“Governor Abbott has turned the victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump,” Wu said. “He is using an intentionally racist map to steal the voices of millions of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal. Apathy is complicity, and we will not be complicit in the silencing of hard-working communities who have spent decades fighting for the power that Trump wants to steal.”
The House – made up of 88 Republicans and 62 Democrats – cannot take the vote scheduled for Monday unless two-thirds of its members are present.
“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,” Wu said. “As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”
Texas Republicans, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Sen. John Cornyn, have explicitly threatened Democrats with arrest if they leave the state.
“If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go,” Paxton posted July 15 on social media. “My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office.”
Cornyn said July 25 he supports “all methods of returning these legislators to the State Capitol.”
However, Chad Dunn, a lawyer for Democratic lawmakers, told Democracy Docket that Texas Republicans would have no legal grounds to arrest Democrats after they’ve left the state.
“It should send a chill down anybody’s spine that federal agents would be able to exercise such control over state legislators,” Dunn said. “There’s no criminal offense in breaking quorum. And therefore, there would not be probable cause to issue an arrest warrant and use criminal authority, in state or across state lines, to arrest a member.”
Texas legislative leaders do have the authority to compel the attendance of members by issuing a warrant for a civil arrest, Dunn said, but that power ends at the state line.
Texas Democrats previously broke quorum in 2003 and 2021. In 2003, they attempted to stop a mid-decade redistricting, while in 2021 they tried to block an election bill with sweeping voting restrictions. Both efforts were unsuccessful.
Under Texas House rules, a member who is absent without leave “for the purpose of impeding the action of the house” is subject to fines, reprimand, censure or even expulsion. After the 2021 quorum break, House lawmakers now face a $500 fine for each calendar day they’re absent.