Election integrity once again found Democratic lawmakers fleeing the Lone Star State, only the consequences could include their jobs.
After failing to address all of the priorities that Texans had sent their representatives to Austin to tackle during the legislative session, in addition to cause for action resulting from devastating flooding throughout Hill Country, a special session was ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott (R). Now, after the advancement of a new U.S. House district map bolstering Republican control at the federal level, a majority of Texas state Democrats have opted to play chicken with their jobs to protect the status quo.
After lawmakers fled to Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and elsewhere in an attempt to break quorum over the redistricting, throwing around the term gerrymandering as though it were an expletive as President Donald Trump supported the effort midway between the mandated U.S. Census, conservative state Rep. Brent Money (R) shared a statement from the governor highlighting the stakes.
“@GregAbbott_TX means business. Dems better show up to work tomorrow or they may find their office decor on the curb of Congress Avenue when they finally return,” wrote the freshman representative on X as Abbot declared, “This truancy ends now.”
@GregAbbott_TX means business. Dems better show up to work tomorrow or they may find their office decor on the curb of Congress Avenue when they finally return. https://t.co/0887FYEomw
— Brent Money (@brentmoney) August 4, 2025
“The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025,” continued the governor. “For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House.”
Speaking at a Sunday news conference with the backing of Illinois J.B. Pritzker (D) — considered a likely White House hopeful in 2028 — House Democratic Caucus Chair state Rep. Gene Wu contended, “We will do whatever it takes. What that looks like, we don’t know.”
At the heart of the fight is the shift in boundaries that gives Republicans an advantage in five districts that have left areas with considerable support for Trump in the 2024 election represented by Democrats in the capital.
As Texas Scorecard’s Michael Quinn Sullivan pointed out in a caption over an image that included the new map, “TxLege HB4 is making our congressional districts look like Texas,” a point that stood in stark contrast to the map of the Prairie State, where many Democrats fled.
On the left, counties that Trump won in 2024. On the right, the new redistricting map.
TxLege HB4 is making our congressional districts look like Texas. pic.twitter.com/BxPSHbxrOX
— Michael Quinn Sullivan (@MQSullivan) August 2, 2025
Ironic to see reports Democrats are abandoning their job in Texas over “redistricting” by traveling to Illinois. The Democrat drawn congressional map in Illinois over-performs in favor of Democrats by about 30 points (82.23% of seats vs. 52.78% of the vote in 2024) compared to… pic.twitter.com/t0um6zjuLh
— Cody Vasut (@cvasut) August 3, 2025
Regarding what was at stake for Democrats who fled the state, Money sent a letter to his Republican colleagues in the state House at the end of July explaining the legal consequences should those across the aisle break quorum during the special session.
In addition to noting the authority used in 2003 and 2021 — when Democrats fled over election integrity legislation — for the sergeants-at-arms and the Texas Department of Public Safety to “locate and retrieve absent members” so long as they are within the borders of the state, absence brought with it fines and penalties that included reductions in operating budget and the possibility of expulsion.
“Should members flee the state for an extended period, the Governor has the constitutional authority to declare their seats vacant under the Texas Election Code. This would lower the quorum threshold and allow the House to act,” wrote Money.
.@brentmoney sent this letter to Republican members with an attached legal memo from @TweetTonyMac detailing penalties for breaking quorum: https://t.co/GXwLVAgKpP#txlege pic.twitter.com/Pi01VEWBpO
— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) July 31, 2025
Though not as direct as Abbott or Money, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows (R) posted on X Sunday, “If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table …”
The Texas House will be convening at 3:00pm tomorrow. If a quorum is not present then, to borrow the recent talking points from some of my Democrat colleagues, all options will be on the table. . .
— Dustin Burrows (@Burrows4TX) August 3, 2025
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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