Democracy’s a fairly easy idea: Voters vote for a politician, the politician with essentially the most votes wins, and that politician then represents voters as an elected official. That’s the concept anyway, proper?
However what if — simply what if — as an alternative of voters selecting politicians, politicians as an alternative might select their very own voters? And principally assure their very own outcomes?
That’s what’s at play in Texas. Going through such a scenario, Texas Democratic lawmakers fled the state Sunday to dam passage of a brand new congressional map designed to regroup Texas voters to all however assure the GOP 5 extra seats within the US Home of Representatives subsequent yr. Republicans at present have a seven-seat benefit.
It’s a transfer that has set off a nationwide combat over redistricting forward of 2026’s midterm elections.
Going through a doubtlessly troublesome cycle for Republicans, President Donald Trump demanded Texas remake its maps to spice up Republicans’ possibilities of holding — and increasing — their slim majority in Congress. Texas Democrats have condemned the brand new maps as a political energy seize; their flight from the state prevents the legislature from having sufficient votes to operate.
Gov. Gregg Abbott and Republican state lawmakers have since threatened Democrats with arrest and declaring their seats vacant. US Sen. John Cornyn is searching for to enlist the FBI to search out Texas lawmakers who’ve left the state.
Issues are messy and solely getting messier.
To grasp the showdown in Texas — and its stakes for the remainder of the nation — In the present day, Defined co-host Sean Rameswaram spoke with Texas Tribune’s Eleanor Klibanoff.
Under is an excerpt of their dialog, edited for size and readability. There’s far more within the full podcast, so take heed to In the present day, Defined wherever you get podcasts, together with Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Eleanor Klibanoff: So that is one thing we began listening to about a few weeks in the past. We heard that President Trump was asking Texas to contemplate redrawing its congressional maps to strengthen the GOP majority within the Home forward of the 2026 election.
The Texas Home has a proposed redraw of the map that tears up a bunch of districts within the Dallas space, the Houston space, the Austin space, in addition to the Rio Grande Valley. And primarily based on our preliminary evaluation, it appears like if the 2026 midterms go the best way the 2024 election went, they’ll get 5 extra seats out of this map. The [Texas] Home committee on redistricting held a number of hearings. … A thousand individuals confirmed up in Houston. Folks submitted feedback. They have been ready hours and hours to testify.
The committee votes the map out [for a full legislature vote] on Saturday. On Sunday, they set [that vote] on the calendar for Monday. And Sunday afternoon, the Democrats skip city.
Most of them went to Chicago — nicely, really, most of them went to the suburbs of Chicago. My colleague who agreed to exit when she thought it was Chicago was disillusioned to study that they have been in St. Charles, Illinois, nicely outdoors Chicago. So that they went there, the place they’ve gotten quite a lot of assist from Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker.
Others went to New York, the place the governor there has stated they’ll have a look at redistricting. Some went to Massachusetts. [They are] simply form of fanning out to those Democratic strongholds, primarily.
Have they got to go there as a result of, what, a Republican governor might extradite them again to Texas?
Sure, primarily, they’ve to go away the state. The [state] Home of Representatives, of their absence, voted to subject arrest warrants for them that principally say: We are going to ship state troopers to your home or we’ll attempt to monitor you down. If we discover you, we are going to deliver you to the Capitol, and then you definitely can not go away.
These aren’t legal arrest warrants. It doesn’t go on their document, but it surely’s to go discover them and convey them [back]. However these warrants solely prolong to state traces. So that they have to go away the state for concern that they are going to be introduced again.
In fact, there’s a federal police power. I consider it’s known as the FBI, and the newest information is that the FBI would possibly really get entangled right here.
Actually, there was some chatter about that. Our sitting Senator John Cornyn has requested for the FBI to get entangled. President Trump form of alluded to perhaps that being vital.
That will be a unprecedented step if that have been to occur. I’m prepared to consider that by the point this airs, it might have occurred. I don’t assume it’s out of the realm of chance, however Texas is a state that fairly proudly likes to handle its personal enterprise itself and maintain the federal authorities out of its affairs. So it could be fairly the reversal to permit the federal authorities to arrest its lawmakers and convey them again to Texas.
That is clearly an excessive second for Texas politics, but it surely’s additionally not an unprecedented one. As I recall, Texas Democrats have fled the state earlier than, proper? Are you able to remind us below what circumstances and the way it ended?
Lately, they left the state in 2021, to protest a invoice that might have additional restricted voting entry. That was throughout the Biden administration, type of a distinct vibe in DC. They caught it on the market. They burned by one particular session, however when the second particular session was known as, they did find yourself returning, and in the end it did cross. After which in 2003, they left the state to do a quorum break on this actual subject, which is a mid-decade redistricting.
So there may be precedent for this to occur. I feel what’s unprecedented about that is A) the stress for the laws that they’re protesting is coming from the federal authorities, and B) the best way Texas Republican leaders are responding with this very — normally they simply type of wait it out, and ultimately the quorum break breaks, and that’s not how that is going.
How did it return in 2003 when nearly the identical factor occurred?
Finally, the quorum break broke, they usually got here again they usually handed the maps, and that was the start of Republican dominance in Texas. The rationale they did mid-decade redistricting in 2003 in any respect was as a result of [Republicans] had simply gained the [state] Home and the Senate for the primary time. So that they took the chance, redrew maps that benefited them, and from there on out, we have now seen principally unfettered Republican dominance in Texas.
So the Democrats who simply fled and are in Chicago and different spots…
…the Chicago suburbs, we must always be aware. They know that the final time they gave in on this subject, they ceaselessly altered their possibilities of dominating Texas politics.
Does that imply they’re going to carry out longer this time? Does that imply it’s going to get uglier this time?
If historical past is any information, they go away, ultimately they arrive again, and what was going to occur occurs. I feel they don’t like this narrative that it’s inevitable. When you simply wait ‘em out, they’ll come again. It’s also simply actuality, proper?These individuals have jobs they need to go to, they usually have youngsters. I imply, faculty begins right here quickly. Are you going to overlook the primary day of faculty? A few of them introduced their youngsters with them.
And now you’re principally a fugitive from your own home state. Texas is a part-time legislature. You make $600 a month, you’ll be able to’t feed your loved ones and go away your organization behind or your online business or no matter.
So there are simply realities. And the reality is [Republicans] don’t want all of them to interrupt the quorum break. You understand, simply within the final day right here, we’ve had this form of escalation from Governor Abbott wherein he has requested the Texas Supreme Courtroom to vacate the seats of those members who’ve damaged quorum, which is unprecedented, stunning to all of the authorized specialists that I’ve talked to. So there’s each form of, inside Texas, a constitutional disaster, after which in fact these nationwide democracy questions on who will get to determine when the foundations are set and once you change the foundations in the course of the sport.
After which what occurs? Republicans aren’t essentially assured these 5 seats, however they’ll in all probability get ’em?
Proper. So if the quorum break ends in a method or one other, they completely will cross the map. We’ll have the midterms in 2026. These districts appear very prone to go for Republicans primarily based on 2024 efficiency.
However 2024 was a fairly distinctive yr in Texas, most notably that we noticed Latino voters swing to this point for President Trump in comparison with historic precedent. And quite a lot of these maps are primarily based on the concept those self same voters will go for Republican candidates throughout the board in 2026.
Now, President Trump will not be on the poll in 2026. It stays to be seen whether or not Latino voters are considering, That is what I voted for and I really like this, or if there’s any purchaser’s regret that may flip a few of these seats just a little bit extra aggressive than you’ll assume.
It’s additionally not assured that Donald Trump will get his 5 Republican districts, as a result of now that Texas goes this route, governors like Gavin Newsom in California are threatening revenge.
Proper. We now have principally a redistricting arms race afoot now, and also you’ve acquired governors in California, New York, and Illinois saying, “Perhaps we’ll check out our maps.”
However then you definitely even have President Trump saying, “Effectively, then I’ll get Missouri to try their maps.” Now, out of the blue, we’re in a multitude of a scenario. You’ve acquired even some Republican lawmakers in Congress speaking about laws to principally say, “we have now to cease this earlier than it will get on prime of us.”
A part of the rationale why that is occurring in Texas first is that we’re very giant, and so you may get 5 seats in a method that some states don’t even have 5 seats [total]. But additionally, our submitting deadline [for candidates to run] could be very, very early, and so that is simply form of a testing floor in Texas. There’s no cause to consider that with President Trump, 5 seats can be sufficient and that he’ll cease there versus attempting to get different states to redistrict as nicely.