Texas Democrats flee state in effort to block GOP’s House map overhaul

Democrats in the Texas legislature fled the state Sunday to block a redistricting plan backed by President Donald Trump aimed at preserving the GOP’s slim House majority, escalating tensions as a broader fight over congressional district lines unfolds throughout the country ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Texas Democrats have twice deployed the same tactic to combat legislation in the 22 years since Republicans have controlled all of state government, but those efforts ultimately failed. This time, Democrats plan to stay away for two weeks to run out the clock on a special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to draw a map that would give Republicans five more House seats.

The Texas House can conduct business only when two-thirds of its 150 members are present. A successful boycott would require participation from at least 51 of the chamber’s 62 Democrats. A total of 57 joined in, said State Rep. Jon Rosenthal (D). Members traveled to Boston and New York, he said, with the largest group landing in Chicago. All plan to remain gone until the conclusion of the session that ends Aug. 19.

“Our goal right now is to kill this session,” Rosenthal said.

Any success could be short-lived as Abbott can immediately call another 30-day session. The Democrats are making a risky bet. They could each face $500 daily fines and political blowback. As part of the special session, lawmakers are considering legislation to respond to last month’s deadly floods, and blocking action on that issue is likely to be unpopular. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has threatened to arrest legislators who break quorum, but he won’t have jurisdiction over them if they stay out of state.

“We’re not walking out on our responsibilities,” state Rep. Gene Wu, chairman of the Democratic caucus in his chamber, said in a statement. “We’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”

The fight in Texas and a looming GOP-led redistricting effort in Ohio have kicked off a national battle, with Democrats in California, Illinois and New York threatening to retaliate by tilting their states’ congressional districts further in favor of their party. The Democrats’ embrace of an all-or-nothing gerrymandering strategy comes after many of them spent years backing plans to strip politics from the map-drawing process to ensure voters have fair, competitive districts.

While states such as Arizona and Michigan have adopted nonpartisan systems for drawing maps, Texas and many other states have not, and partisans there have free rein to give themselves as much power as possible. Texas Republicans unveiled a map last week under pressure from Trump and Abbott that would shift five districts sharply to the right. A committee approved the map Saturday and the Texas House was expected to take it up Tuesday.

Republicans hold 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts and under the new map they could take 30 next year. Trump won all 30 of the proposed districts by 10 points or more last year.

Before Texas lawmakers unveiled their map, Trump said he favored “a very simple redrawing” that would give Republicans more seats. “We pick up five seats [in Texas] but we have a couple other states where we’ll pick up seats also,” he told reporters last month.

Texas state Rep. Todd Hunter (R), the sponsor of the legislation to draw the new map, called the GOP proposal “a good plan for Texas” that would give his party more seats in Congress. “The primary changes … are focused on five districts for partisan purposes,” he said in committee.

DNC Chair Ken Martin applauded Texas Democrats’ response, saying their actions showed real leadership. “Republicans thought they could just rig the maps and change the rules without the American people taking notice,” he said in a statement. “They were dead wrong.”

All states must draw new district lines at the beginning of each decade to account for population shifts identified by the U.S. Census. Where they place the lines can greatly favor one party over the other. Most states give legislators the power to draw the districts, but eight states use independent commissions in hopes of preventing partisan power grabs.

President Donald Trump greets Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) at a White House event in March.

After the 2020 census, Texas Republicans focused on keeping incumbents safe. The plan to redraw district lines in the middle of a decade is unusual and Republicans are open about using their power to stave off potential losses during the midterm elections, which historically have gone against the sitting president’s party. Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the House with four vacancies, and any cushion could protect their ability to deliver on Trump’s agenda. His signature tax and immigration bill, for example, squeezed through the chamber last month, 218-214.

Trump has signaled he will be heavily involved in the midterms, hosting fundraising dinners at his resorts and weighing in on social media with plans to target lawmakers with whom he disagrees. MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with Trump, raised a hefty $177 million in the first half of the year, according to a filing last week with the Federal Election Commission.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), a frequent target of Trump’s ire and a potential candidate for president in 2028, has said he is working on a plan to shift Republican districts in his state to the left if Texas adopts a new map. In a dig at the GOP, Newsom reposted a map Friday on X from another user that showed all 52 of the state’s congressional districts could be drawn to favor Democrats — likely wiping out the reelection chances of the nine Republicans who represent the state.

Enacting a new map in California is not as easy as it is in Texas because the California Constitution requires that a nonpartisan commission establish districts. Newsom has said he wants to call a special election in November to get approval from voters to change the state’s map for 2026, 2028 and 2030 if Texas acts.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters during a news conference at the U.S.-Mexico border in Otay Mesa, California, on Thursday. (Sandy Huffaker for The Washington Post)

Republicans and Democrats alike engaged in gerrymandering in some states in the most recent round of redistricting. Illinois, the new temporary home for Texas Democrats, has a map that received an F from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project because it is so heavily skewed toward Democrats.

Other Democrats have spent years calling for removing politics from map drawing. In recent weeks, those voices have died down as Democrats say they cannot disarm if Republicans in states like Texas are going to strengthen their numbers. Eric Holder, who served as President Barack Obama’s attorney general, has championed nonpartisan redistricting for years but said Sunday on ABC that Democrats might “have to do things that perhaps in the past I would not have supported” in response to Texas Republicans.

Democratic governors echoed that notion, saying they opposed partisan gerrymandering but needed to retaliate if Texas Republicans carry out their plans.

“I think we need to respond in kind,” said Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

If Texas changes its map, Democrats need to do the same wherever they can, said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), the Democratic nominee for vice president last year. “It is a terrible spot we’re in as a country, but not responding is going to make it even worse,” he said.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) campaigned on ending gerrymandering, but he said he backs having states led by Democrats draw maps that favor their party if Texas acts. “[When] you’re up against the wall, you have to do whatever you can to stop it,” he said.

But changing maps in states led by Democrats is difficult. Kelly, Walz and Evers appeared at an event with the governors of Kentucky and Rhode Island, and all five governors are in charge of states where there appear to be few options for adding Democratic seats. Walz said Minnesota’s courts would not allow gerrymandering in his state, and Republicans hold majorities in the legislatures of Kansas, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Democrats control all of Rhode Island’s state government, but both of the state’s two congressional districts already belong to the Democrats.