Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives fled the state on Sunday to prevent their Republican colleagues from voting on a redrawn map of the congressional districts.
The Democrats leaving the state could prevent the Texas House of Representatives “from reaching the quorum needed to hold a vote this week,” according to the New York Times. The Texas House is scheduled to hold a “floor debate” on the redrawn Congressional map, which would likely give the Republicans five additional congressional seats, on Monday.
Democrats leaving the state also comes as there has been a “clash over a mid-decade redistricting in Texas,” according to the outlet:
The move to walk out was a sharp escalation in the bitter partisan clash over a mid-decade redistricting in Texas that was requested by President Trump. Republicans in the State Legislature were rapidly moving forward, with the map — drawn to flip five Democratic congressional districts to favor Republicans — being passed out of two committees over the weekend.
A floor debate on the map, and a potential vote of the full House, was scheduled for Monday.
The Democrats’ departure from the state represents the “second act of breaking quorum” since 2021, according to Politico.
It marks their second act of breaking quorum — when the state House will lack the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business — since 2021. And it comes as the party scrambles to counter the aggressive action in Texas, intended to keep Republicans in power in Congress next year by creating five GOP-friendly seats in the state.
Texas Democrats reportedly traveled to Illinois on Sunday.
“Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.”
Texas House Democrats issued a statement, criticizing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and the Republican leadership for using the flooding that ravaged the Texas Hill Country and left “over 130 Texans” dead as “political cover.”
“For two weeks, while families in the Hill Country mourned the loss of over 130 Texans in catastrophic floods, Democrats fought to make their relief the legislature’s top priority,” the Texas House Democrats said in a statement on Sunday. “Instead, Governor Abbott and Republican leadership used the tragedy as political cover.”
The Texas House Democrats continued to accuse Abbott of having “turned the victims of a tragedy into political hostages in his submission” to President Donald Trump.
“We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander,” the statement continued.
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