Democrats Rally Behind Texas Colleagues in Redistricting Showdown

Party leaders say the Texas map could set a national precedent as part of a broader GOP strategy ahead of 2026.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks during a press conference with Texas Democrats at the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades union hall in Aurora, Ill., on Aug. 5, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Democratic officials rallied in Chicago on Tuesday behind more than 50 Texas House Democrats who left their state last week to block a GOP-led redistricting plan they say could help Republicans flip up to five congressional seats.

Speaking at a press conference on Aug. 5 alongside the Texas delegation, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, and others described the Texas map as a test case for future redistricting efforts in other Republican-led states.

They said the plan could set a precedent for mid-decade redistricting allegedly designed to entrench Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms. In Texas, the GOP holds 25 of the state’s 38 House seats.

“Democrats are fighting back,” Martin said. “We’re not rolling over. And I’ve been saying to these Texas Republicans, ‘If you want a showdown, well, you’re gonna get a showdown.’ And here it is right now, here in Illinois.”

Pritzker, who hosted the delegation in Illinois, said Democrats should not allow themselves to be outmaneuvered if Republicans pursue similar plans elsewhere.

“There are no rules anymore, apparently,” Pritzker said. “And so, we’re gonna have to play by the set of rules that are being set out in front of us, which, frankly, none of us believes is the right way to operate.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special legislative session to approve new congressional lines and consider other measures. Texas Republicans said the proposal is legally justified and is needed to correct problems with existing districts in response to a letter by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in early July.

The DOJ said that some districts may be “coalition districts” drawn based on racial demographics to form a majority by combining minority groups and thus violate the Voting Rights Act and the 14th Amendment.

Democrats said the plan to redraw the districts unfairly targets districts led by Black and Latino lawmakers and undermines decades of progress under the Voting Rights Act.

State House Democrats in Texas broke quorum on Aug. 3 to stop the map from moving forward. Some are staying in Illinois, while others have gone to Massachusetts and New York. The move is similar to a 2021 walkout over voting legislation. The Democrat lawmakers say the national stakes are higher this time.

Abbott has called on Democrats who left the state to be arrested and removed from office, accusing them of having abandoned their posts. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said that prosecuting Democrats for leaving the state would not be an easy process.

On Aug. 4, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul held a press conference alongside Texas Democrats who had fled to her state. She said Texas Republicans had “left [Democrats] no choice” but to consider redrawing maps in blue states in response.

New York has 26 members of Congress, of whom 19 are Democrats and seven are Republicans, while in Illinois, 14 of the state’s 17 congressional seats are represented by Democrats, with Republicans holding three seats.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton called the Texas redistricting effort “authoritarianism,” while Texas state Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins urged Republican colleagues to reconsider. “You already have the governor’s office, the Senate, the House—what more do you want?” she asked. “Our freedom?”

U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, who chairs Texas’s Democratic congressional delegation, said the proposed map would eliminate five of the 13 districts currently held by Democrats—all of which are represented by coalitions of minority voters.

“In Texas, a partisan gerrymander is a racial gerrymander,” she said.

Democrats also criticized the Justice Department for referencing the legality of the current map in a recent letter. “It’s pretext,” Fletcher said. “The letter is not right — legally or otherwise.”