Texas Democrats set plan to end walkout over Republicans' redraw of US House maps

CHICAGO — Texas Democrats moved closer Thursday to ending a nearly two-week walkout that blocked the GOP's redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election and put them under escalating threats by Republicans back home.

The Democrats announced they will return so long as Texas Republicans end a special session and California releases its own redrawn map proposal, both of which were expected to happen Friday.

Democrats did not say what day they might return.

Election 2026 Redistricting — Republicans chat Tuesday as the Texas House of Representatives attempts to convene but cannot due to Texas Democrats breaking quorum at the state Capitol in Austin.
Mikala Compton, Austin American-Statesman

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott still intends to push through new maps that would give the GOP five more winnable seats before next year's midterm elections.

Texas House Democrats said in a statement that attorneys told them they must return to the state to “build a strong public legislative record” for an upcoming legal battle against a new map.

“Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we’re prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts,” said state Rep. Gene Wu, the House Democratic leader.

At the same time, the Texas Democrats want to wait until California Democrats file their bill to redraw the state's maps, Wu added. “We want to make sure the baton is fully in their hands before we let go,” he said.

Election 2026 Redistricting Democrats — Texas state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, center, talks to Democratic politicians from Indiana on Wednesday in Chicago before other Texas politicians who fled their state arrive for a news conference.
Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune

Texas Democrats, who are the minority in each chamber, fled Aug. 3 to Illinois, New York and Massachusetts to stop the Legislature from passing any bills.

Abbott asked the state's highest court to remove Wu from office, and other Republican officials threatened their arrest. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he asked the FBI to assist Texas authorities in locating the lawmakers and Attorney General Ken Paxton asked that 13 members be removed from office.

Lawmakers face fees of up to $500 each day they are absent after the House adopted new rules in 2021 after a similar walkout over voting restriction legislation.

Texas has 38 congressional districts, 25 of which Republicans hold. In California, Democrats control 43 of the state's 52 House seats.

Election 2026 Redistricting California — California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks Thursday during a news conference in Los Angeles.
Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press

California governor calls for Nov. 4 special election on state's redrawn maps

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that California will hold a Nov. 4 special election to seek approval of redrawn districts intended to give Democrats five more U.S. House seats in the fight for control of Congress.

The move is a direct response to the Republican-led effort in Texas, pushed by President Donald Trump as his party seeks to maintain its slim House majority in the midterm elections.

The nation's two most populous states emerged as the center of a partisan turf war in the House that could spiral into other states — as well as the courts — in what amounts to a proxy war ahead of the 2026 elections.

Newsom goes to LA to launch campaign for new districts

In Los Angeles, Newsom staged what amounted to a campaign kickoff rally for the as-yet unreleased new maps with the state's Democratic leadership in a downtown auditorium packed with union members, legislators and abortion rights supporters.

Newsom and other speakers veered from discussing the technical grist of reshaping districts — known as redistricting — and instead depicted the looming battle as a conflict with all things Trump, tying it explicitly to the fate of American democracy.

“We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear district by district all across the country," Newsom said. “We are not bystanders in this world. We can shape the future.”

An overarching theme was the willingness to stand up to Trump, a cheer-inducing line for Democrats as the party looks to regroup from its 2024 losses.

“Donald Trump, you have poked the bear and we will punch back,” said Newsom, a possible 2028 presidential contender.

Showdown between Texas and California could spread

Thursday's announcement marks the first time any state beyond Texas officially waded into the mid-decade redistricting fight.

Elsewhere, leaders from red Florida to blue New York are threatening to write new maps. In Missouri, a document obtained by The Associated Press shows the state Senate received a $46,000 invoice to activate six redistricting software licenses and provide training for up to 10 staff members.

In California, lawmakers must officially declare the special election, which they plan to do next week after voting on the new maps. Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers — enough to act without any Republican votes — and Newsom said he's not worried about winning the required support from two-thirds of lawmakers to advance the maps.

Newsom encouraged other Democratic-led states to get involved.

“We need to stand up — not just California. Other blue states need to stand up,” Newsom said.

House control could come down to a few seats in 2026

Republicans hold a 219-212 majority in the U.S. House, with four vacancies.

New maps are typically drawn once a decade after the census is conducted. Many states, including Texas, give legislators the power to draw maps. California is among states that rely on an independent commission that is supposed to be nonpartisan.

The California map would take effect only if a Republican state moves forward, and it would remain through the 2030 elections. After that, Democrats say they would return mapmaking power to the independent commission approved by voters more than a decade ago.

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Opposition to California plan begins to take shape

Some people already have said they would sue to block the effort, and influential voices including former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger may campaign against it.

“Gavin Newsom’s latest stunt has nothing to do with Californians and everything to do with consolidating radical Democrat power, silencing California voters, and propping up his pathetic 2028 presidential pipe dream,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Christian Martinez said in a statement. “Newsom’s made it clear: he’ll shred California’s Constitution and trample over democracy — running a cynical, self-serving playbook where Californians are an afterthought and power is the only priority.”

California Democrats hold 43 of the state’s 52 House seats, and the state has some of the most competitive House seats.

Outside Newsom's news conference Thursday, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted patrols, drawing condemnation from the governor and others.

“We’re here making Los Angeles a safer place since we don’t have politicians that will do that,” Gregory Bovino, chief of the patrol’s El Centro, California, sector, told a reporter with KTTV in Los Angeles. He said he didn’t know Newsom was inside nearby.