Democratic lawmakers to flee Texas in bid to halt redistricting

Joe Lovinger, Bloomberg News on Aug 3, 2025

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Democratic lawmakers said they are leaving the state of Texas in an effort to temporarily block Republicans from redrawing its congressional maps — a redistricting initiative pushed by President Donald Trump.

By fleeing, Democrats will leave the state legislature short of the minimum number of lawmakers required to hold votes. They will be fined $500 a day due to a rule adopted in 2021 after the caucus broke quorum over voting legislation.

“This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one we make with absolute moral clarity,” said Gene Wu, the Democratic leader in the lower house of the Republican-dominated legislature. “We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent.”

The unusually timed revamp of Texas congressional districts has drawn national attention, with Trump making it central to his goal of bolstering the GOP’s power in the 2026 midterm elections. In response, Democratic governors such as California’s Gavin Newsom and New York’s Kathy Hochul have threatened to retaliate with new maps of their own. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, met with lawmakers in Austin on July 30.

The U.S. Justice Department sent a letter to Texas officials in July arguing that four of the state’s congressional districts were racially gerrymandered. All four seats cited were won by Democrats last year. Trump then called on Texas Republicans to push through redistricting to help defend the party’s slim majority in the U.S. House in next year’s midterm elections.

The state typically revamps its congressional maps every 10 years based on new census information. It most recently redistricted in 2021 after a data delay caused by the pandemic. Those maps were already considered favorable toward Republicans and spurred lawsuits.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, has called for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who leave the state to block redistricting.

In 2003, Democrats fled to neighboring states in a bid to foil a redistricting effort. The move was unsuccessful.

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