CHICAGO – Texas Democrats said the state legislature is holding flood victims “hostage” by focusing on approving new congressional maps, instead of working to provide aid.
“It’s been two weeks,” said Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, “they don’t even have a bill filed.”
Democratic state lawmakers left Austin on Sunday to prevent a vote on new congressional maps designed to give Republicans additional seats in the U.S. House during the upcoming midterm elections.
“They have spent their entire time playing dirty, political games that only help themselves,” Wu said.
The Democratic lawmakers spread out to Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and other regions of the country, and plan to meet with leaders in those states over the coming days.
“They are not in Austin,” said state Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington, “and they are not going back to the Capitol.”
Democratic State Reps. Diego Bernal, Trey Martinez Fischer and Ray Lopez, who all represent San Antonio, are among the legislators in Chicago.
In a news conference held Sunday in conjunction with Illinois Gov. J.D. Pritzker, Democrats accused Republicans of “gerrymandering” to silence minority voices.
“We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities,” Wu said. “We will not be complicit in the destruction of any communities in Texas.”
On a bus ride to the news conference, state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, told KSAT that Republican lawmakers used race as a way to redraw the districts.
“They’re taking neighborhoods and counties and splitting them in half,” Bernal said, “and then drawing them together with other counties and towns hundreds of miles away.”
In the days leading up to breaking quorum, prominent Republicans such as Attorney General Ken Paxton have said Democrats who leave the state should be “arrested” and brought back to the Capitol.
Democrats in the Texas House who try and run away like cowards should be found, arrested, and brought back to the Capitol immediately.
We should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law.
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) August 3, 2025
Turner said lawmakers are abiding by state law to defend Texans.
“We are using the power that we have as state legislators under the Texas Constitution to fight for our constituents,” Turner said.
Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to remove lawmakers who do not return before 3 p.m. Monday and charge them with felonies, in a statement released minutes after the news conference ended.
Texas House rules adopted by Republicans in 2023 impose a threat of arrest and a $500-per-day fine on each lawmaker who absconds from the state. House rules also prohibit lawmakers from using their campaign funds to pay the fines, making the decampment a potentially expensive move.
Pritzker, who Forbes said has a net worth of $3.7 billion, refused to answer whether he would help fund the move to break quorum.
Abbott also cited a 2021 decision from Paxton, which he said allows him to remove Democrats from office who do not return for a special session.
Some democrats notably returned to Austin following the 2021 break in quorum.
“I hope everyone understands this is not 2021,” Wu said. “The threats to not only to our state, but to our entire country, the very concept of what America is — this is a different day.”
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