Former President Barack Obama took to Zoom to cheerlead a group of Texas Democrat legislators for bolting from the Lone Star State to try to sabotage a redistricting bill.
Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, thanked the 44th president on X on Thursday, saying, “We are encouraged by your words and remain committed to fighting for democracy, in Texas & across the country.”
ABC News reported the contents of the Thursday meeting, also noting that Wu claimed the Zoom call was made to an “undisclosed location” because of “Republican threats and surveillance,” ostensibly to arrest the lawmakers and return them to their home state.
More than 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state on August 4 to deny a quorum needed to pass a Republican measure that would increase the number of GOP-favorable Congressional districts for representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The move could potentially increase the current majority margin there by five seats in the 2026 midterms.
According to ABC, Obama told the group:
We can’t let a systematic assault on democracy just happen and stand by and so because of your actions, because of your courage, what you’ve seen is California responding, other states looking at what they can do to offset this mid-decade gerrymandering.
I want all of you to be returning feeling invigorated and know that you have helped to lead what is going to be a long struggle. It’s not going to be resolved right away, and it’s going to require, ultimately, the American people understanding the stakes and realizing that we cannot take our freedoms and our democracy for granted. You’ve helped set the tone for that, and I’m grateful for it.
The former president was joined on the call by former Attorney General Eric Holder, who now heads the party’s redistricting committee.
The session is yet another event in the ongoing multi-state standoff over the Texas redistricting plan. As Breitbart News has reported, President Donald Trump requested the measure after alleging that Democrats have drawn illogical district boundaries in several states to give them more congressional districts — a process known as gerrymandering.
Redistricting usually happens every ten years after the census, or in response to a court ruling. Texas Republicans want to do it in 2025 at the five-year mark.
Democrat governors such as California’s Gavin Newsom, New York’s Kathy Hochul, and Illinois’s J.B. Pritzker have been especially vocal, calling the Texas move a “threat to Democracy” and an effort to “rig” the 2026 elections.
WATCH — Gavin Newsom Announces Democrat Retaliation for Texas Redistricting:
Newsom has even threatened to redraw the California map and create more Democrat districts to neutralize or even exceed the seats gained by the Texas plan.
However, according to a Breitbart News analysis, Democrat-led states already disenfranchise Republican voters on a massive scale through gerrymandering.
For example, in California, Trump won 38 percent of the vote in the state, but Republicans only have nine out of fifty-two congressional seats — a paltry 17 percent of its seats. This gives the Democrats a staggering 21 percent cushion in congressional representation over actual voter alignment.
This week, the Texas Senate approved the redistricting map. But the Texas House lacks the needed numbers with its Democrat lawmakers still missing in action.
WATCH — Democrats Flee Texas Like Spoiled Children:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Friday called a second special legislative session, putting more pressure on Democrats to return, the Dallas Morning News reported.
“We will not back down from this fight,” Abbott said in a statement. “That’s why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.”
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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