Texas Democrats refuse to go back to the state as they face threats of arrest and expulsion

CBC

a day ago

Vikki Goodwin says she's not worried about the bribery allegations, daily fines and arrest warrants being levelled against her and her fellow Texas Democrats who have fled the state.
Goodwin is one of dozens of House Democrats who have hunkered down in liberal states to deny Texas Republicans the quorum they need to vote on a new redistricting plan, championed by President Donald Trump, with the goal of bolstering Republican control of the legislature.
But even as Gov. Greg Abbott is doing everything he can to compel the Democrats to return, Goodwin says she and her colleagues are gaining public support every day for their self-imposed exile.
"As people are learning why we are doing this, they, too, are becoming outraged that we could have our governor bowing down to the president of the United States," Goodwin, who is in Illinois, told As It Happens guest host Rebecca Zandbergen.
"The idea that we're drawing lines in order to pick more Republican representation, I think that just goes against everybody's idea of what a true democracy is."
Trump demands 5 more seats
Abbott has convened a special session to vote on the redistricting bill, which is expected to give the Republicans five extra seats and protect their narrow majority in next year's congressional midterm elections.
But he can't pass a bill in the 150-member House without two-thirds of members present. Democrats hold 62 seats in the majority-Republican chamber, and at least 51 left the state, according to a Democratic aide.
The lawmakers have mostly fled to the Democrat-led states of Illinois, New York and Massachusett.
States are required to redistrict every 10 years based on the U.S. Census Bureau, but the current Texas map was passed just four years ago. Goodwin says the process to push through a new map mid-cycle has been rushed and undemocratic.
"It's simply because Trump asked for it, and Abbott is willing to do whatever Trump asks," she said.
Trump, himself, has made no secret of his desire to bolster Republican dominance in Texas.
"We are entitled to five more seats," he told CNBC on Tuesday.
In that same interview, Trump said gerrymandering goes both ways, and accused Democrat-led legislatures of drawing electoral maps in their own favour.
"They go to Illinois for safety. But that's all gerrymandered. California is gerrymandered. We should have many more seats in Congress," he said.
A White House official told Reuters that Trump wants Abbott to do "whatever is necessary" to get the new map passed.
Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said the plan is more than a power grab; it's "turbocharged racism" that will further dilute the voting power of racial minorities in the state.
The new lines likely would make it harder for four Hispanic incumbents and two Black incumbents to retain their seats in 2026, according to The Associated Press.
Texas Republicans dispute Wu's claims, noting the new map would create four new racially diverse districts, and increase the number of Hispanic-majority districts by one.
'There will be consequences'
Abbott has called the Democrats who left the state "un-Texan" and is pulling out all the stops to force them back.
He has threatened to remove them from their seats for absconding their duty — something legal experts say would be a lengthy process, not guaranteed to work, and would require new elections to fill vacant seats.
The House has also issued civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats, and Abbott ordered state troopers to find and arrest them — something they are legally unable to do outside state boundaries.
Under House rules, each representative faces a $500 US fine for every day they're absent. Abbott has said that any lawmaker who solicits funds to cover those costs could face bribery charges, and vowed to extradite any "potential out-of-state felons."
"If you continue to go down this road, there will be consequences," House Speaker Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Republican, threatened from the chamber floor Monday.
Asked about the bribery charge threats, Goodwin said: "Personally, I have not taken any money that has driven me to the decision to leave the state. This is purely out of the need to protect our democracy, the need to push back against Trump."
As for the fines, she said: "We will find a way to cover those costs."
Democrat-led states vow to fight fire with fire
The state standoff has quickly become a national one.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul — all Democrats — have each threatened to re-draw their own congressional district maps if Texas moves forward with its plan.
Goodwin says the tactic of waiting out Abbott's special session can only work for so long. When this one ends on Aug. 19, she says, he's likely to call a new one.
But her hope, she says, is that she and her colleagues will continue to gain public support from Texans of all stripes, and Abbott will be forced to abandon the bill in order to avoid jeopardizing his re-election.
"That would be my ultimate goal," she said. "Stranger things have happened."