Texas Dems Submit To Redistricting Vote After Two Weeks AWOL
Texas Democrats who had fled the state to block a mid-decade redistricting effort have announced they are returning, paving the way for the Lone Star State to finalize its new congressional map for the 2026 elections.
Representative Gene Wu, who leads Democrats in the Texas House, declared victory over what he called a “corrupt special session,” claiming his caucus had “withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation” and used their absence to draw national attention to the issue. Wu insisted their return would allow them to build the legal record necessary to challenge the map in court and mobilize grassroots opposition across the state.
The Democrats fled to Illinois on August 4, denying the chamber a quorum and effectively freezing business for two weeks. During their absence, Governor Greg Abbott levied $500-per-day fines on the AWOL lawmakers, threatened to have them arrested upon return, and suggested they could be removed from office entirely for abandoning their duties. He called their flight “an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office,” signaling he was prepared to fill vacancies if needed.
Abbott immediately called a second special session after the first expired, saying in a statement that “critical work” remained unfinished. The Texas House reconvened at noon Monday, meaning a new map could be approved by the end of the week. The special session is also set to tackle other pressing issues, including lowering property taxes, shoring up education benchmarks, and addressing recovery from the devastating July 4 floods.
The standoff has rippled far beyond Texas. Democratic governors in states like California and New York have threatened to redraw their own congressional districts in response, escalating the redistricting fight into a national battle. California Governor Gavin Newsom bluntly warned that Texas Republicans would “pay the price,” boasting that his state would “punch above its weight” both economically and politically to counter the GOP’s advantage.
The episode highlights the growing partisan brinkmanship surrounding redistricting. With control of Congress hanging in the balance ahead of 2026, both parties appear willing to weaponize state-level mapmaking to tilt the battlefield in their favor. Texas Republicans, backed by Abbott’s hard line, show no signs of retreating, while Democrats promise legal and political warfare to stop what they call a “racist” and “undemocratic” plan.