Republican Governor Greg Abbott has issued a threat to imprison and expel Texas House Democrats who have left the state to evade a redistricting vote unless they return by Monday afternoon.
Numerous Texas Democratic state representatives arrived in Chicago on Sunday night to obstruct the vote. In response to Abbott’s declaration, the Texas House Democratic Caucus simply stated: “Come and take it.”
The correspondence also mentioned the Republicans’ proposed districts, which could lead to an additional five GOP House seats in the upcoming midterm elections, labeling it a “racist mid-decade redistricting scheme.”
Abbott strongly condemned the sudden exit of the Democrats, beginning his demand for their return with the remark, “Real Texans don’t flee from a battle.”
Instead of fulfilling their responsibilities and voting on critical legislation that impacts the lives of all Texans, they have abandoned Texas to deny the House the quorum required to convene and conduct business,” he asserted.
To conduct business, a minimum of 100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present, and approximately 50 Democrats have departed. Abbott emphasized that their obligation to vote as elected officials is compulsory and “not optional.”
The Texas House is set to reconvene at 3 p.m. on Monday, and Abbott has declared that “derelict Democrat House members must return” by that time or risk removal from their positions by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The Republican Attorney General has already indicated that the lawmakers “should be located and arrested regardless of their whereabouts.”
🚨 JUST IN: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ENDORSES Speaker DUSTIN BURROWS potentially having the Democrat lawmakers who fled the state to obstruct a vote on redistricting “IMMEDIATELY arrested.”
“These radical Democrats are disrespecting every Texan they pledged to represent. This is… pic.twitter.com/MwSNUHkNjr
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 3, 2025
Abbott further stated that a legislator found to have “forfeited his or her office due to abandonment” may be removed from office in accordance with the Texas Constitution.
Removal from office is not the sole danger confronting the lawmakers on the run, as Abbott cautioned that “soliciting funds to evade the fines they will incur under House rules” could potentially constitute a felony.
“Any Democrat who ‘solicits, accepts, or agrees to accept’ such funds to aid in the breach of legislative responsibilities or to avoid a vote may have breached bribery statutes,” he noted, referencing the Texas Penal Code. He further stated that anyone who “offers, confers, or agrees to confer” money to the fleeing lawmakers might also face legal repercussions.
Abbott concluded his remarks by asserting that he will “exercise [his] full extradition authority to demand the return to Texas of any potential out-of-state felons.”
The current design of the proposal would advantage Republicans in historically blue cities like Dallas and Houston, while also displacing Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett from her district.
During a press conference in Chicago on Sunday, House Democratic Caucus Chair Rep. Gene Wu remarked that lawmakers are “not here to engage in political games. We have come to put an end to this corrupt system.”
At the same press conference, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker voiced his support for the Texas Democrats, characterizing their exodus as a “righteous act of courage” and claiming that Republicans aim to silence “millions of voices, particularly Black and Latino voters.”
“Texas Democrats had no alternative but to leave their home state, prevent a vote from occurring, and safeguard their constituents,” Pritzker stated.
The lawmakers have not provided any indication of a timeline for their return to Texas.
Tensions escalated at the Texas Capitol last week as lawmakers conducted their first public hearing on a contentious proposal to redraw the state’s congressional map merely four years after the previous one was finalized.
The five-hour hearing, organized by the Texas House Redistricting Committee, attracted numerous speakers from across the state. Not a single individual voiced support for the redistricting initiative.
The most intense moment occurred at the conclusion, when Isaiah Martin, a candidate for Congress in District 18, was forcibly ejected by Capitol security after he declined to cease speaking once his two-minute time limit expired.
“The sergeants are instructed to escort the gentleman out of the room,” stated Chairman Cody Vasut, as Martin grappled with security and exclaimed, “History will not remember you for your actions!”
