Texas Governor Issues Threat as Democrats Leave State in Redistricting Protest

Over 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state to block a quorum and stop a Republican-led redistricting plan backed by Donald Trump. Governor Greg Abbott threatened to remove them if they didn’t return within 24 hours. The Democrats say the plan is an attempt to rig the 2026 elections.

More than 50 Democratic lawmakers in Texas left the state on Sunday in a coordinated effort to prevent the Republican-led legislature from achieving the quorum needed to pass a controversial redistricting proposal.

On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a stern warning, threatening to remove the absent lawmakers if they failed to return to the state within 24 hours.

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Democratic Representative James Talarico addressed the public, saying, "If you're seeing this video, my Democratic colleagues and I have just left our beloved state to break quorum and stop Trump's redistricting power grab."

Talarico further criticized the Republican redistricting initiative, calling it an effort to "rig" the upcoming 2026 elections in favor of the GOP.

At present, the United States House of Representatives is narrowly controlled by Republicans with a 220-212 majority. Three seats previously held by Democrats remain vacant due to the deaths of their respective members.

According to U.S. law, states are required to redraw their congressional districts every 10 years based on data from the national census to reflect population changes. However, Texas’ Republican-majority legislature, which completed a redistricting just four years ago, is now pursuing an unscheduled mid-cycle redrawing of district lines ahead of the 2026 congressional elections.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly voiced his support for the redistricting plan, asserting that it could result in the addition of as many as five new Republican seats in the House of Representatives.

A vote in the Texas legislature regarding the proposed new district maps had been scheduled for Monday. However, such a vote cannot proceed if a sufficient number of Democratic members are absent, thereby denying the quorum required for legislative action.

Some of the absent Democratic lawmakers reportedly traveled to cities such as New York and Chicago, where they were received by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a fellow Democrat. When asked how long they intended to remain out of state, the lawmakers declined to provide a specific timeline.

"We will do whatever it takes. What that looks like, we don't know," said State Representative Gene Wu, who also serves as the leader of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.

While such legislative walkouts are bold and dramatic, they typically result only in delays rather than permanent blocks to proposed legislation.

Governor Abbott responded to the walkout with a strongly worded statement, asserting that any Democratic member of the House who failed to return within 24 hours would be removed from the chamber.

"Democrats hatched a deliberate plan not to show up for work, for the specific purpose of abdicating the duties of their office and thwarting the chamber's business," Abbott stated.