After a two-week standoff, Texas Democrats who fled the state to block Republicans’ redistricting plan have finally returned to the state’s capital, The Associated Press reported Monday.
Dozens of Texas Democrats fled the Lone Star State to deny the state House the quorum needed for the GOP-controlled Texas House to advance its map that would create five new Republican congressional seats, according to the AP. The lawmakers returned home, claiming they achieved their goals by derailing the first special session.
The Texas House Democratic Caucus said that they returned home to “to launch the next phase in their fight against the racist gerrymander that provoked a weeks-long standoff with Governor [Greg] Abbott and President Trump,” according to Politico.
However, the redistricting battle is far from over as Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott kicked off a second special session on Friday, which again includes redistricting on the agenda.
Democrats racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for breaking quorum, and Abbott filed legal action attempting to remove some lawmakers from office. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also moved Tuesday to hold former Democratic Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in contempt for fundraising and covering expenses for the “runaway” Democrats.
During their absence, Democrats took refuge in blue states such as Illinois — which has one of the most heavily gerrymandered congressional maps in the country — under the protection of Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker. Illinois’ map gives Democrats 82% of the congressional seats despite President Donald Trump winning 43.5% of the state’s votes in the 2024 presidential election.
The Texas standoff sparked a broader, national dispute over congressional maps as Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom promised retaliation by redrawing the state’s congressional map to create an equal number of Democratic-leaning districts in response to the Texas GOP’s plan.
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