Texas: Texas’ state Senate on Tuesday passed a Republican-desired congressional redistricting map, as the state House has been in a quorum break since Aug. 4 after dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left for other states in protest. Nine Democrats walked out of the state Senate on Tuesday while two stayed in the room. The controversial bill, which may give Republicans five more congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections, was easily passed by a 19-2 vote in the upper chamber.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the walkout was a demonstration against prioritizing political agendas over pressing issues like flood relief. Senate Democrats who left the session expressed, “We walked out because this session should be about flood relief, not politics. Texans deserve leaders who put people first.”
On the same day, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced plans to call another special session for the state House to vote on the redistricting. He stated, “There will be no reprieve for the derelict Democrats who fled the state and abandoned their duty to the people who elected them. I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed.”
Local media outlet ABC13 confirmed that state House Democrats intend to return to Texas, emphasizing flooding relief as their main concern. However, the exact timing of their return remains uncertain.
The current congressional map in Texas, drawn in 2021, allots Republicans 25 of Texas’s 38 seats. The proposed redistricting, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, aims to create new lines in Austin, Houston, and Dallas to secure five additional seats for Republicans.
Earlier this month, Trump expressed his full support for the redistricting plan, asserting that Republicans are “entitled to five more seats” in the 2026 midterms in Texas, the largest red state in the country. Meanwhile, Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin pledged that Democrats will “fight fire with fire,” accusing Texas Republicans of attempting to “cheat” in elections.