AUSTIN, Texas — The Lone Star State fight over redistricting could spill over to other parts of the country as Texas Democrats met with the governors of blue states to discuss the issue and options to counter Republican efforts.
On Friday, seven Texas House Democrats flew to California to meet with Gov. Gavin Newsom, and eight traveled to Illinois to hold a roundtable discussion with Gov. JB Pritzker.
The Texas lawmakers met with the Democratic governors to discuss Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to redraw the state’s congressional maps, an effort President Donald Trump hopes can produce five additional seats in Congress in time for next year’s midterms to help keep GOP control on Capitol Hill.
“This is far, far beyond the normal political shenanigans that happen on a day-to-day basis,” Rep. Gene Wu of Houston told Pritzker during a roundtable in Chicago. “This is extraordinary.”
Pritzker and Newsom are among Democratic governors across the country who say they are open to considering retaliating against what happens in Texas by redrawing their own congressional lines.
“It’s not just a Texas issue, right? This matters in every state in the country,” Pritzker told reporters.
In California, Newsom said he is discussing options to see what his state can do to counter actions in Texas.
“They’re not screwing around,” Newsom said in a news conference with Texas lawmakers. “We cannot afford to screw around either. We have got to fight fire with fire.”
Texas Democrats, meanwhile, are considering their own limited options to disrupt GOP efforts to redistrict. That includes potentially leaving the state to deny the House and Senate a quorum, which would bring the state Capitol to a halt.
“We’re going to use every tool at our disposal in the state of Texas to confront this very illegal redistricting process,” Rep. Rafael Anchía of Dallas said at the event in California.
While leaving the state would prevent votes in the House and Senate, Democrats also risk other issues staying idle, including flood relief and reform.
On top of that, lawmakers would face a $500 fine each day they are out of the state and not meeting in the Capitol when called to the House or Senate floors.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said this month his office would work to make sure lawmakers are brought back to the state.
“If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go,” Paxton said in a post on social media this month. “My office stands ready to assist local, state and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater.”