Dozens of Texas House Democrats traveled to Illinois and other states this week in hopes of blocking a proposed redistricting map that they characterize as a national threat to democracy.
The rare mid-decade redistricting would fulfill President Donald Trump’s call for Texas Republicans to gain five new GOP seats in the U.S. House before next year’s midterm elections.
Although Republicans maintain an 88-seat majority in the Texas House, the chamber requires the presence of at least 100 members to conduct business. By leaving the state entirely, Democratic legislators prevent legislation from moving forward.
Texas Rep. Vince Perez said the new map would allow for unprecedented and reckless “racial engineering” of congressional districts.
In Texas, white and Hispanic residents each represent around 40% of the voting population. Representation reflective of the population would require 15 of Texas’s 38 seats to be determined by majority white, non-Hispanic voters and 15 by majority Hispanic voters.
Analysis by Perez’s office showed that under the proposed map, 26 seats would be determined by majority white voters, giving 40% of the population control of nearly 70% of seats.
Perez said Republicans are trying to select their voters, rather than the other way around. His team’s analysis indicates that Republicans would represent 90% of all non-Hispanic, white voters in the state under the plan.
“What’s deeply concerning to me is you’re having the political party in power pick who they want to represent,” Perez said. “I think it is a very scary proposition when you have the government in power almost exclusively representing one particular race.”
Perez feared this would lead to policies which only benefit the white, non-Hispanic population, such as the provision of private school vouchers which disproportionately go to non-Hispanic white students.
Texas Rep. John Bryant also worried about the potential for a national escalation in redistricting, with Democratic states seeking to make up losses by redrawing their own maps. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he would pursue doing just that if Texas passes its map. Bryant and other Texas Democrats say they hope to avoid this outcome if possible.
“I’m opposed to gerrymandering and I think it’s not in the public interest for politicians to pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians,” Bryant said. “But we’re in a national crisis right now. We can’t let him cheat in the middle of the decade and win.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott accused the Democrats of abandoning their duty to Texans, specifically referencing proposed legislation for natural disaster preparation systems and relief intended for victims of the massive flood that left over 100 people dead in central Texas last month.
“By fleeing the state, Texas House Democrats are holding hostage critical legislation to aid flood victims and advance property tax relief,” Abbott said in a statement. “There are consequences for dereliction of duty.”
Texas Rep. John Bucy described Abbott’s concern as disingenuous, saying that Abbott could use his executive powers to provide relief to victims directly or calling a special session dedicated specifically to addressing the floods.
“In Texas special sessions should be and have historically been reserved for emergencies. And in Texas, we had an emergency, in which 137 Texans died, and Greg Abbott called a special session, pretending to take care of that, only to do Donald Trump’s bidding,” Bucy said. “He’s misusing his powers to call a special session for a power grab.”
Leaving the state – or breaking quorum – is often considered the nuclear option, and it carries the potential for direct consequences for the legislators.
After the last time Democrats broke quorum in 2021, the Texas House instituted a $500-a-day fine for each workday missed. In Texas, the base salary for state legislators is $7,200 per year for the role, paid in $600 monthly installments.
The Texas House voted Monday to issue civil warrants for the Texas Department of Public Safety to bring in any Democrats still within state borders. Abbott has also threatened to remove the missing Democrats from office based on a legal opinion penned by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton after the 2021 walkout, although the action would likely face legal challenges.
The legislative session ends Aug. 19, meaning the Democrats would need to hold out for two weeks.
Bucy said the Democrats will not be deterred by Abbott’s threats.
“This is posturing and bluster from a weak governor who can’t stand up to Donald Trump, so he has to pretend to be a bully with other people to look tough to his base voters,” Bucy said.
“We’re fighting for democracy, we’re fighting for representation, and we’re not worried about any threats that the governor wants to make on us as individuals.”
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This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.
This is really rich. Trump carried 40% of the Illinois vote.
Due to the grossest example of gerrymandering in the country, Republicans have 3 out of 17 congressional seats, which is approximately 18%. Where are all the Democrats who have been crying in their beer about the popular vote as they spew hate on the electoral college?
Hi Frederick Hayek,
You wrote,
“Trump carried 40% of the Illinois vote. Due to the grossest example of gerrymandering in the country, Republicans have 3 out of 17 congressional seats, which is approximately 18%.”
Yes of course, but what you are missing is that when democrats do something, they are good, and when republicans do the exact same thing, they are bad.
What you are referring to is called “having standards” which is a foreign idea to the democrats.
democrat hypocrisy is so bad now that they are blind to it. Doesn’t any of the Texas Dems that fled to Illinois to escape voting on Republican redistricting of their home state, see the COMPLETE IRONY of that decision? Here in the most Gerrymandered state in the country, you feel safe being hidden by the enormous shadow of JB Pritzker? I hope the FBI hunts you all down and arrests you, and then arrests our idiot governor for being complicit in their crimes as well!