Democrats push back Trump-backed Texas GOP constituency
Backed by President Donald Trump, Texas Republicans are pushing forward with mid-term rezoning ahead of mid-term 2026, eliciting backlash from Democrats.
Aug. 3 (Reuters) – A Texas Democrat said Sunday he would leave the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to redraw the state’s 38 Capitol districts.
President Donald Trump supports the district’s plan and told reporters he hopes to bring as many as five additional House Republicans. Republicans hold a narrow 220-212 majority in the House, with three democratic seats open after the death of their members.
In a video shot in front of the airport, Democrat representative James Tarico said the rezoning plan would “rigg” the 2026 election.
“If you’re watching this video, my Democrat colleague and I left our beloved state to defeat quorum and stopped the grip of power in Trump’s constituency,” Tarico said in a video posted on X on Sunday.
Other Texas Democrats headed to Illinois on X and said the governor was the Democrat JB Pretzker.
The US must redeem every ten years based on the US census, but the Texas map was passed by Republican-controlled Congress just four years ago. While mid-cycle rezoning occurs from time to time, it is usually spurred by changes in power in Congress.
Republicans are pursuing district changes at a special legislative meeting that will work to raise funds to prevent floods following the fatal July 4 flash flood that killed more than 130 people.
On the current line, Republicans manage 25 seats, and almost two-thirds of the state’s districts that last year went on to Trump with a margin of 56% to 42%.
Rezoning experts said plans could backfire if Republicans try to squeeze too many seats out of what is already considered a distorted map.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not respond to requests for comment on the Democratic moves on Sunday.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer, Editing by Sandra Maler)
