Today, dozens of Texas House Democrats fled the state in an effort to deny Republicans the quorum needed to hold a special session for voting on congressional redistricting.

If passed, the proposed new congressional map would add five more Republican House seats.

As you may have guessed, Democrats are very mad about this.

So, together with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, they came up with this stunt to leave Texas for Illinois in order to prevent Republicans from having enough votes to move forward.

Take a look:

Texas Democrat State Rep. James Talarico bragged about leaving the state to stop the GOP from advancing the redistricting plan.

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He posted this video on X:

This isn’t the first time Democrats have pulled this kind of maneuver.

Politico reported:

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.

Four years ago, Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for the arrest of fleeing lawmakers upon their return to their state.

Sunday’s move will almost certainly set off a nationwide redistricting arms race that threatens to upend the 2026 midterm election map.

For weeks Texas state lawmakers have been debating their strategy for responding to the GOP: Some members fully support a walkout; others are reluctant to take such a risk that could put them in legal and political jeopardy.

“Breaking quorum is an extreme step.It should be a last resort,” State Rep. James Talarico told POLITICO in an interview last Tuesday. He was among the 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in 2021 over an election bill. Democrats are said to be headed to Illinois, a blue state with a governor who has accused Texas Republicans of cheating by trying to finagle redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections.

But, this time, it could backfire tremendously.

Texas AG Ken Paxton is now calling for all Democrats who fled the state to be arrested and forced back to the Capitol.

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He posted this statement on X:

In case you’re wondering, these Democrat cowards absolutely can be arrested for running away from the vote.

Two years ago, the Texas House adopted a rule intended to make fleeing the state in order to duck out on a vote very costly — in more ways than one.

The Texas Tribune explained:

Texas House rules adopted by Republicans in 2023 impose a threat of arrest and a $500-per-day fine on each lawmaker who absconds from the state. House rules also prohibit lawmakers from using their campaign funds to pay the fines, making the decampment a potentially expensive move. But Democrats have been raising money in recent weeks in anticipation of the quorum break, and those involved in the fundraising say they have found a way to circumvent the campaign restrictions.

Among those fundraising to support Democrats is Powered by People, a political group launched by former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke in 2019. The group raised over $600,000 in 2021, the last time Democrats deprived the House of a quorum, to help cover the costs associated with staying out of state, and an O’Rourke spokesperson confirmed the group is again supporting this year’s effort.

The new punishment rules came in response to the 2021 episode, when Democrats fled Texas in an unsuccessful attempt to block new voting restrictions. That effort failed after Democrats on the lam splintered, and enough returned to Austin and granted Republicans the numbers needed to resume business.

What do you think?

Should AG Paxton carry through with his threat and arrest them all?

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
 

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