Texas state House Minority Leader Rep. Gene Wu and other Democratic lawmakers in the legislature fled Texas to prevent a vote on congressional redistricting. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)
The action in Austin comes one day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Democrats unveiled their playbook to counter the push by President Donald Trump and Republicans to enact rare - but not unheard of - mid-decade congressional redistricting.
Newsom vowed to "meet fire with fire" by redrawing blue-state California's congressional maps to create five more Democrat-leaning districts.
REDISTRICTING BATTLE: NEWSOM VOWS TO FIGHT ‘FIRE WITH FIRE’
The state Democratic lawmakers, who fled to the blue states of Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, said that they would return to Texas after the adjournment of the current special session. However, they didn't say specifically which day they would come home.
The end of the walkout by the Democrats will lead to the passage of the new maps, but Texas Democrats vow they'll fight the new state maps in court and say the moves by California are allowing them to pass "the baton."
"Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts," Texas state House Democratic leader Rep. Gene Wu said on Thursday.
Abbott is urging Texas' highest court to remove Wu from office, and state Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked that 13 Democratic state lawmakers also be removed from office. The fleeing lawmakers also face fines of up to $500 per day for their absence.
California Democrats have "promised not to do away with the state’s independent redistricting commission entirely," and are instead planning to ask voters "to approve a constitutional amendment that would put new maps approved by the Legislature in effect for the 2026, 2028 and 2030 election cycles." (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
The non-partisan redistricting commission, created over 15 years ago, remains popular with most Californians, according to public opinion polling.
That's why Newsom and California Democratic lawmakers are promising not to scrap the commission entirely, but rather replace it temporarily by the legislature for the next three election cycles.
"We will affirm our commitment to the state independent redistricting after the 2030 census, but we asking the voters for their consent to do midterm redistricting," Newsom said.
However, their efforts are opposed by a number of coalition of figures supportive of the non-partisan commission.
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Among the most visible members is former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the last Republican elected governor in Democrat-dominated California.
Democrats currently control 43 of the state's 52 House seats. In Texas, Republicans control 25 of the state's 38 congressional districts.
Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/abbott-texas-republicans-launch-new-trump-backed-redistricting-push-fleeing-democrats-plan-end-walkout