logo
Abbott announces second special session as Texas Democrats plan return

Abbott announces second special session as Texas Democrats plan return

The Hill9 hours ago
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced a second special session on Friday after state lawmakers gaveled out their first special session earlier that morning amid the ongoing redistricting fight.
'Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,' Abbott said in a statement.
'Numerous other bills to cut property taxes, support human trafficking survivors, eliminate the STAAR test, establish commonsense THC regulations, and many others have all been brought to a halt because because Democrats refuse to show up for work,' he explained. 'We will not back down from this fight. That's why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.'
The special session, which is expected to begin around 1 p.m. ET, includes redistricting on its agenda.
Texas Democrats are expected to return to the state soon, noting that two conditions had to be met before arriving back to the Lone Star State: Texas Republicans adjourning their first special session and California's introduction of new congressional lines aimed at neutralizing the expected gains from Texas' proposed House map.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Brooklyn Democratic Party hacks' support of Zohran Mamdani is really about the next council Speaker and patronage
Brooklyn Democratic Party hacks' support of Zohran Mamdani is really about the next council Speaker and patronage

New York Post

time17 minutes ago

  • New York Post

Brooklyn Democratic Party hacks' support of Zohran Mamdani is really about the next council Speaker and patronage

We had to laugh when everyone present tried to spin this week's Brooklyn stop on Zohran Mamdani's 'Five Boroughs Against Trump' tour as a dramatic show of Democratic Party unity, when it was plainly nothing more than an alliance of convenience with the Kings County's most prominent Dems conspicuously absent. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams insisted that the media needed to 'understand what's going on right now, because I don't think this group of people agree about nothing' — yet they still don't. Williams and other radicals (including supposed reformers) were basking in the glow of fellow-traveler Mamdani's primary triumph, but the machine politicians like Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermalyne, the county Democratic boss, were just trying to make sure their bread will still be buttered. Bichotte Hermalyne and her allies had endorsed ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary, obviously because he seemed the sure winner, but Andrew's political corpse wasn't even cold when she announced in a NY1 News interview her support for Mamdani in the general election. Beyond other patronage, she and her 'regular' Democrats are likely also hoping to cut some deal that nabs their faction the City Council speakership next year as a reward for jumping so quickly behind Mamdani. Not all pols are that squalid: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other notable Brooklyn Dems very much did not turn out for the 'unity' farce. Then again, Jeffries and Schumer are actually working ceaselessly to counter Trump, not just posturing about it so they can avoid addressing other issues. The point is that these politicians (like others across town) are 'uniting' behind Mamdani because it serves their factional interests, not because they think he'll be good for the city. The Democrats who truly care about New York are conspicuous by their silence.

Democrats Unveil Map Targeting California GOP House Members
Democrats Unveil Map Targeting California GOP House Members

Yahoo

time42 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Democrats Unveil Map Targeting California GOP House Members

(Bloomberg Government) -- Top Democrats released a draft congressional map Friday that may lead to Republicans losing five US House seats as Democratic leaders in the state push to offset possible GOP gains from redistricting in Texas. The California map released Friday by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee would imperil the 2026 re-election bids of California Republicans including Reps. Doug LaMalfa, Kevin Kiley, David Valadao, Ken Calvert, and Darrell Issa. It would also bolster some swing-district Democrats who won close 2024 elections. The US-Canadian Road Safety Gap Is Getting Wider Festivals and Parades Are Canceled Amid US Immigration Anxiety A Photographer's Pipe Dream: Capturing New York's Vast Water System To Head Off Severe Storm Surges, Nova Scotia Invests in 'Living Shorelines' Five Years After Black Lives Matter, Brussels' Colonial Statues Remain 'We will not stand by as Republicans attempt to rig the election in their favor and choose their voters,' Julie Merz, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he will ask California voters to approve new congressional districts in a special election on Nov. 4 if Republican lawmakers in Texas go ahead with redrawing congressional maps in that state at President Donald Trump's urging. The governor was joined by other federal and state Democratic officials Thursday at an event to build support for the plan. Kiley, a leading Newsom critic who represents some Sacramento suburbs and Lake Tahoe, would receive Democratic voters in Sacramento now represented by Rep. Doris Matsui (D) and Rep. Ami Bera (D). Kiley said he expects voters will reject the Democratic proposal and will keep his district intact. 'We will defeat Newsom's sham initiative and vindicate the will of California voters,' he said in a post on X. The proposed map would shake up several races ahead of a June 2, 2026, primary election, likely spurring additional candidates to jump into newly competitive races while emboldening Democrats who have already launched campaigns targeting vulnerable Republicans such as Valadao, who represents a Central Valley swing district. The California map would also boost Reps. Adam Gray and Josh Harder, the only California Democrats from districts that favored Trump in 2024. Gray would receive voters in the Stockton area now represented by Harder, whose San Joaquin County-centered district would move westward to take in more Democrats from Contra Costa County. The top two finishers in each primary race, regardless of party, would face off in next November's general election. Democrats hold 43 of California's 52 congressional districts, which were drawn by an independent commission under a process approved by voters in 2010 that was meant to take power over redistricting away from politicians. Newsom is proposing to get around that process by asking voters to approve the new map directly. California lawmakers, who return from summer recess Aug. 18, will have until Aug. 22 to pass legislation with support from supermajorities in the Senate and Assembly to formally call for the election, according to the secretary of state's office. Assembly and Senate committees plan to hold Aug. 19 hearings on the redistricting plan. The map would only take effect if approved by California voters, and if Texas goes ahead with its redistricting plans, Newsom said. The redistricting commission would redraw the districts after the next census in 2030. Greg Giroux in Washington also contributed to this story. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Oxford in Sacramento at To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Swindell at ; Loren Duggan at ; Cheryl Saenz at (Updates with comments from Merz and Kiley, and adds analysis of the changes in some key districts.) Americans Are Getting Priced Out of Homeownership at Record Rates What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy Bessent on Tariffs, Deficits and Embracing Trump's Economic Plan Twitter's Ex-CEO Is Moving Past His Elon Musk Drama and Starting an AI Company Dubai's Housing Boom Is Stoking Fears of Another Crash ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Leaked California redistricting maps show where Democrats would draw new lines
Leaked California redistricting maps show where Democrats would draw new lines

San Francisco Chronicle​

timean hour ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

Leaked California redistricting maps show where Democrats would draw new lines

SACRAMENTO — California Democrats would appear to have a shot at flipping several congressional seats next year under a leaked draft map KCRA published Friday. The maps appear to make significant changes to many districts currently held by Republicans. Districts represented by Reps. Doug LaMalfa, R-Chico, and Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, change dramatically, making them possible Democratic pickups. Swing districts held by Reps. Adam Gray, D-Turlock; Josh Harder, D-Stockton; and George Whitesides, D-Santa Clarita, appear to become easier to hold for Democrats. The maps appear to also pack more Democrats into the districts of Rep. David Valadao, R-Bakersfield — already a difficult seat for Republicans to hold — and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-San Diego, making it a possible Democratic target. The maps were still being debated on Friday, KCRA reported. Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, said he had not seen KCRA's maps when asked to confirm their authenticity. Democrats intend to imperil at least five Republican incumbents, Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have said. The maps represent the centerpiece of Newsom's plan to counter efforts in Texas and other Republican-dominated states to redraw their congressional districts to further favor the GOP. In Texas and most other states, congressional maps are drawn by state lawmakers and can be manipulated by whichever party is in power. But in California, maps are drawn by an independent redistricting commission that includes equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. The proposed ballot measure would replace the commission's maps with the new ones released by the Legislature. They would be in effect for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections. After that, the independent commission would draw new maps based on the 2030 census. That argument has not assuaged opponents, particularly in the Republican Party. 'No matter how you slice it, he is undermining the will of the voters,' Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, told the Chronicle ahead of the maps' release. He said he thinks the independent commission has drawn fair maps and that he worries new maps drawn to benefit Democrats will diminish the voting power of people in rural parts of the state. Gallagher said he supports an effort by Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who previously served in the state Assembly, to bar all states from engaging in mid-decade redistricting. That could halt efforts in California as well as in Texas, though Gallagher stopped short of criticizing Texas Republicans for their redistricting push, saying that was not his role. LaMalfa said he opposes Kiley's bill because he doesn't think the federal government should trample on states' rights to run their own elections. But he also opposes efforts in both California and Texas to redistrict mid-decade. 'Two wrongs don't make a right,' LaMalfa said in response to Newsom's argument that Texas' redistricting forced his hand. Under the draft map, LaMalfa's district seems to change dramatically, shedding ruby-red northern counties like Modoc, Siskiyou and Shasta. Instead, it gains somewhat less-red Plumas County, but it will also extend south and west to include parts of much bluer Mendocino, Lake, and Sonoma counties along the Highway 101 corridor — including, apparently, much of the North Bay city of Santa Rosa. Amy Thoma Tan, a spokesperson for the campaign opposing Newsom's ballot measure, said it was inappropriate for state lawmakers, some of whom are actively running for Congress, to draw new maps. 'These maps were drawn by politicians and party insiders behind closed doors with no transparency and no input from the public,' she wrote in a statement. 'Californians deserve district lines that are drawn in the open, by our citizens' independent commission.' 'Californians oppose Newsom's stunt because they won't let a self-serving politician rig the system to further his career,' he wrote in a statement. 'The NRCC is prepared to fight this illegal power grab in the courts and at the ballot box to stop Newsom in his tracks.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store