Democratic lawmakers from the Texas and Indiana legislatures slammed Republican redistricting efforts before the 2026 Midterm Elections, with one Indiana lawmaker accusing Vice President JD Vance of being "engaged in congressional-level shoplifting." (Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson AND Getty Images)
This comes as Texas Governor Greg Abbott and other state authorities have called for the arrest and removal of Democratic lawmakers who disappeared from the state and brought legislative progress in the state House of Representatives to a grinding halt. Because of the missing Democrats, the Texas House has not been able to pass the redistricting bill though it passed in the Texas Senate on Tuesday.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Abbott said that, in addition to political backlash, Democratic lawmakers who accepted money to assist with their exodus could face felony bribery charges.
Now, several Democrats are reportedly planning to return to the state as Abbott calls for a second special legislative session to pass the redistricting bill.
Despite this, the Democrats are asserting that their efforts have been a success.
Speaking on Wednesday, Wu said, "I'm so happy to be here today because in the past week we have heard from California, we have heard from New York, we have heard from Illinois, that people are ready to stand up. People are ready to fight back."
DEMS FACE SCRUTINY OVER CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION GAPS IN BLUE STATES: 'DON'T HAVE CLEAN HANDS'
Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Metallus plant in Canton, Ohio, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Maddie McGarvey/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
Vance said Democrats have had the upper hand in the game for many years and, under President Donald Trump's leadership, Republicans are finally playing offense.
"It's ridiculously unfair," he said of illegal immigrants being included in the total population used to determine how many seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"The only real way to fight back against it is for us to redistrict, in some ways, as aggressively as these hard blue states have done," he added.
On Wednesday, Indiana state Rep. Ed DeLaney, a Democrat serving in a majority Republican legislature, accused Vance of engaging in "congressional-level shoplifting."
"JD Vance, in my view, and I'm being serious about this, the man is engaged in congressional-level shoplifting, and I say that again. That's what he's doing," said DeLaney.
"Never in my life did I think that the Vice President of the United States would come to my state to ask our legislators to shoplift a congressional district like this, steal them off the shelf, run outside and wave them in front of the country. We cannot have this kind of conduct," he said.
O'ROURKE, SOROS-LINKED GROUPS FACE CALL FOR DOJ PROBE OVER ALLEGED FUNDING OF TEXAS DEM WALKOUT
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker (L) and Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (R) listen as Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks to reporters during a press conference at the DuPage County Democratic Party headquarters on August 03, 2025 in Carol Stream, Illinois. Wu was with a group of Democratic Texas lawmakers who left the state earlier today so a quorum could not be reached during a special session called to redistrict the state. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
DeLaney asserted that "this game of, you know, ritual gerrymandering" puts at risk "the mutual respect of the legislature of our state and of Texas and of other states."
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He went on to say, "If these idiots get their wishes, what happens if they lose one of those five congressional races? Oh my God, let's have another redistricting next year. This has got to be put to a stop."
He went on to say that the Texas Democrats "are the people who are going to try to put it to a stop," adding, "I know how hard it is, but we need to support them and stand with them. Otherwise, our people will be subjected to ever-changing districts, none of which are representative."
Fox News Digital also reached out to Vance's office for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Fox News Digital's Taylor Penley contributed to this report.
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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