Why Texas Democrats fled the state, in their own words
(Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos, Rep. Gene Wu and Rep. Ron Reynolds/X)
By Joy Sung
and Leo Sands
August 4, 2025 at 12:00 p.m. EDT
4 minutes ago
1 min
Democratic state lawmakers fled Texas en masse over the weekend in a bid to stall GOP plans, urged by President Donald Trump, to redistrict the state's congressional map.
If approved in a special session of the GOP-led state legislature, the effort could give Republicans five more Republican-leaning districts to shore up or expand their House majority in the 2026 midterms.
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But to vote on the plan, the Texas House requires two-thirds of its 150 members to be present. To deny quorum, Democrats have fled as far afield as Chicago and New York, grinding proceedings to a halt and stalling the plan for an expected vote Tuesday on the new map at least temporarily. On Sunday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) accused them of abandoning state office and threatened to go to court to remove and replace them if they do not show up Monday afternoon.
Here are some of the reasons they gave.
State Rep. Gene Wu
Texas House Democratic Caucus chair Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu fled the state Sunday in a bid to stall GOP redistricting plans. (@GeneforTexas/X)
'We come here today with absolute moral clarity that this is … absolutely the right thing to do to protect the people of the state of Texas. … The tool they're using is a racist, gerrymandered map, a map that seeks to use racial lines to divide hardworking communities who have spent decades building up their power and strengthening their voices. And Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump.'
State Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos
Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus chair
'We are breaking quorum. We were summoned to go to the Capitol to vote for this most racist redistricting bill, mid-decade redistricting bill. And we are fighting back, and we're saying no to Trump, no to the GOP steal, once again, of the government, and we will stop at nothing to protect the millions of people in Texas from this horrific administration.'
State Rep. Ramon Romero Jr.
'We didn't start this fight. Donald Trump started it. He asked the Texas legislature to get rid of your voice. So for me, I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to go to work to silence you.'
State Rep. Ron Reynolds
'Now it's time to keep making good trouble. Thank you all for your prayers. We're going to continue to fight. We're going to continue to speak the truth of power, doing everything it takes to save and protect our democracy. We will not relent to an authoritarian president that wants to steal and racially gerrymander our Black and Brown districts. The fight continues. No Texas takeover from Abbott and Trump.'
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