Texas Senate Democrats Face Call to Break Quorum, Continue Blocking GOP Redistricting Map

By Jen Rice

Texas Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, right, in the Senate Chamber at the Texas Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) 

After a two-week protest out of state, enough Texas House Democrats returned to Austin Monday to allow Republicans to move forward with a redistricting scheme that could add five GOP seats in Congress and give Republicans control of the House in the 2026 midterm election. 

But state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer – one of many Democrats still refusing to show up – is now calling on Senate Democrats to take up the fight and leave the state next. 

Still, Senate Democrats appear to face an uphill battle to stay united enough to deny the GOP a quorum.

“I wish the Senate would step up,” Martinez Fischer told his followers in a video posted online Monday. “They’re in a position to do something. I wish they would. That’s up to them. And that’s up to you, to put the pressure on them. Don’t give them a pass.”

There is historical precedent for what Martinez Fischer is asking of Senate Democrats. After Texas House Democrats left for Oklahoma in 2003 to block a similar GOP mid-decade redistricting scheme, they returned to Austin and Senate Democrats later picked up the fight, staying in New Mexico to continue blocking the map. The Senate quorum break ended when one Democrat caved and returned to Austin. 

House Democrats argued Monday their quorum break was successful because they pushed California to redraw its own congressional map in response, and they brought the Texas fight into the national spotlight. But Martinez Fischer rejected that framing, and he said he refused to be one of the 100 lawmakers needed Monday to allow the House to resume business. 

“This is not a victory lap,” Martinez Fischer said. “We shouldn’t be excited about going back to Austin. I already told you, I’m not going to be one of the 100. That’s just not who I am. And I know communities of color are going to be impacted.”

Senate Democrats did not join their House colleagues in leaving the state to break quorum. But nine out of 11 Democrats symbolically walked out last week shortly before the Senate held a final vote on the map. The two Democrats who remained – state Sen. Judith Zaffirini and state Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa – allowed Republicans to have enough members present to hold the vote.  

The Texas Senate Democratic Caucus has opposed the redistricting map and Gov. Greg Abbott (R)’s decision to call a second special session to continue working to pass the redistricting plan. 

“If they can get away with doing this now, they will set a precedent for politicians to redraw maps to pick their voters before every election, leaving voters with no real say at all,” the caucus posted Friday on social media.

Most Senate Democrats have signaled their willingness to activate the major tool they have to block the legislation – a quorum break. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez visited House Democrats in Chicago to express solidarity. And nearly all of them left the state shortly after House Democrats, meeting with Massachusetts lawmakers to discuss redistricting. Zaffirini and Hinojosa did not join the trip.