Texas Democrats Returning Home After Redistricting Protest

Texas Democrats are returning home Monday after fleeing the state in protest over Texas Republicans’ plan to redistrict the Lone Star State.

Democrats had left Texas to thwart a quorum to proceed with the GOP-led redistricting of the state. The state legislators drew hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for preventing a quorum, and their moves have garnered retaliatory efforts by Republican officials. 

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott even filed a lawsuit on Aug. 5 attempting to remove Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, the Democrat caucus chairman, from office.

“Rep. Wu and the other Texas House Democrats have shown a willful refusal to return, and their absence for an indefinite period of time deprives the House of the quorum needed to meet and conduct business on behalf of Texans. Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty to Texans, and there must be consequences,” Abbott said. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed to hold former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke in contempt for violating “a Tarrant County temporary restraining order by continuing to fundraise and pay for the personal expenses of runaway Democrat legislators.”

More than 50 Democrat state lawmakers fled Texas, with two dozen of them fleeing to Illinois, a state infamous for its own gerrymandered districts that favor the Democratic Party.

Several states in addition to Texas are considering redistricting their congressional districts to favor one political party or the other. Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a plan to bypass California’s independent redistricting commission. Meanwhile, Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe was quoted as saying, “I think it’s safe to say that, in Missouri, along with other states, we’re always trying to make sure that we have as much Republican representation, because we believe that’s who we are.”

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