Texas Democrats gave their clearest signal yet on Thursday that they will soon return to the Lone Star state, after decamping to stop the passage of a redrawn congressional map that adds five new GOP-leaning seats.
A statement from the state House Democratic Caucus said that the lawmakers will return on two conditions, both of which are expected this week. First, that the Texas Legislature ends its first special session on Friday, and second that California lawmakers introduce their expected proposal that could offset the GOP gains in Texas.
“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said in a statement.
The battle over redistricting in Texas has kicked off a nationwide scramble to redraw congressional districts ahead of the midterms.
By returning to the state, it is almost certain that the new map will pass the GOP-controlled Legislature, a move that could ultimately benefit Republicans as they hope to cling to their razor-thin House majority in the midterms.
The House Democrats left their home state on Aug. 3 and went to blue states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts in order to break the Legislature’s quorum, a last-ditch effort to stop the maps from passing. They’ve spent the following days attacking Republicans for gerrymandering the state, as mid-decade redistricting has quickly taken the country by storm.
The White House has pressured other GOP-led states to redraw their maps, and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has been rolling out his plan to thwart the GOP gains by putting a referendum on the ballot later this year that would allow the state to redraw its maps as well.
Since departing the state, Democrats have racked up hefty fines, as Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton have launched repeated legal attacks, including an effort to remove them from office altogether.
Earlier this week, Abbott signaled that the Legislature will end its special session on Friday — and he would immediately call another special session with the same agenda. Meanwhile, in California, Newsom and Democrats are expected to unveil their proposed map this week, another condition the Texas Democrats set before returning home. California Democrats hope to redraw the state to make as many as five additional blue-leaning seats.
Both states could face extensive legal challenges to their maps. The National Democratic Redistricting Committee promised lawsuits challenging Texas within “hours” after the map passed.
While their effort to stop the new Texas map from passing will ultimately fail, Democrats still painted their walkout as a victory over President Donald Trump.
“Trump thought he could easily get his way in Texas with compliant Republicans, but Democrats fought back ferociously and took the fight to Trump across America,” Wu said in the statement. “When the legislature adjourns sine die and California introduces its maps, we will return to the House floor and to the courthouse with a clear message: the fight to protect voting rights has only just begun.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
