Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu spoke during a news conference in Chicago after Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a redistricting proposal. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, left, called Wu and the other Texas lawmakers "courageous." (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The redistricting push in Texas is part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the House and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats in midterm elections.
But a veteran Republican strategist argued that the decision by most of the Democratic lawmakers to head to Illinois - with a few others decamping in two other blue states, New York and Massachusetts - was "cartoonishly dumb."
"The idea that Texas Democrats would flee to Illinois, a state where Dems have abused gerrymandering to comical levels, is perfection," Tom Bevan, the RealClearPolitics co-founder and president, wrote on X.
"To protest ‘partisan gerrymandering’ Texas Democrats are fleeing to…Illinois," Republican Missouri Senator Eric Scmitt wrote on X. "You can’t make this up."
TEXAS DEMOCRATS FLEE STATE TO BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING VOTE IN DRAMATIC LEGISLATIVE MOVE
Pritzker, the two-term Illinois governor who is seen as a potential 2028 Democratic Party White House hopeful, has criticized Trump and Republicans for "cheating" as they push for rare mid-decade congressional redistricting.
"Texas Democrats were left with no choice but to leave their home state to block a vote from taking place and protect their constituents. This is a righteous act of courage," the governor claimed.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is considering launching a redistricting push in his blue state to counter Republican efforts underway in red-state Texas. (Paul Steinhauser - Fox News )
The next day, after a meeting, Democrats in California's congressional delegation said they were on board with an ambitious plan to try and gain at least five seats through redistricting. Democrats currently control 43 of the Golden State's 52 congressional districts.
But it won't be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work.
Democrats in other heavily populated blue states—including Illinois, New York, and New Jersey, are also considering making changes to their maps, but have redistricting limits enshrined in their state constitutions.
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Meanwhile, Ohio is required by law to redistrict this year, and a redrawing of the maps in the red-leaning state could provide the GOP with up to three more congressional seats.
And Republicans are also mulling mid-decade redistricting that might give the GOP a couple of more House seats in red states such as Florida, Missouri, and Indiana.
Cameron Cawthorne is a politics editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Cawthorne@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cam_cawthorne
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/texas-dems-ripped-cartoonishly-dumb-strategy-flee-blue-state-notorious-gerrymandering