AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans on Friday warned they would escalate efforts to end a nearly weeklong holdout by Democrats if they don’t return to vote on new congressional voting maps sought by President Donald Trump in a widening battle over redistricting across the U.S.
The dozens of Texas House Democrats who left the state on Aug. 3 have shown no signs of buckling for now: A group of them was headed to California to meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who wants to redraw his own state’s lines in retaliation if Texas puts in place redrawn maps for the 2026 midterm elections.
Texas has been the epicenter of Trump’s push to gerrymander congressional maps to shore up Republicans’ narrow House majority before next year. The Texas House of Representatives was set to convene again Friday, and GOP leaders warned they would ratchet up pressure if the holdout continued, including expanding efforts to try to remove Democratic lawmakers from office.
“We have an agenda to pass priorities critical to Texans, and we will get it done. I’ll call special session after special session—no matter how long it takes—until the job is finished,” Abbott posted Friday on the social platform X.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has pledged legal action to try to get the missing Democrats removed from office if they do not return to the House chamber. State Rep. Gene Wu, the chairman of the state House Democratic Caucus faced a Friday deadline to respond to a similar effort filed by Gov. Greg Abbott with the state Supreme Court.
Abbott has threatened to keep calling state lawmakers into special sessions until outnumbered Democrats return to face the redistricting vote, telling them they can’t stay away forever. The current special session ends Aug. 19, and the missing lawmakers already face mounting fines for every day they are gone, and civil arrest warrants issued by the state House.
Friday will mark the third time the 150-member state House has tried to convene since Democrats left the state. The state constitution requires at least 100 members present for the House to do business, and Republicans hold an 88-62 majority in the chamber.
Trump wants five more seats out of Texas to potentially avoid a repeat of the 2018 midterms, when Democrats reclaimed the House and proceeded to thwart his agenda and impeach him twice.
While their minority status allows them only to delay, the Texas holdout has inspired Democrats and progressives around the country.
Newsom wants Democratic gerrymandering in California if Texas proceeds, though voters would have to bypass an independent redistricting commission. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both of whom have appeared alongside Texas Democrats who relocated to their states, have also declared their intent to push new maps if they are necessary to neutralize Republican maneuvers.
The dynamics could embroil the 2026 midterm campaign in legislative and court battles testing Trump’s power over the Republican Party, Democrats’ ability to mount opposition and the durability of the U.S. system of federalism that balances power between Washington and individual states.
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Lathan is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
