Runaway Texas Democrats Give Up, Return to State

Texas House Democrats are ending their weeks-long standoff and preparing to return to Austin after fleeing the state to block a Republican-led redistricting plan.

Democrats have been protesting against the plan that could add multiple GOP seats to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The group had decamped to Democrat strongholds such as New York and Illinois to deny the Texas House a quorum during a special session.

Democrats claim they succeeded in derailing the first special session and drawing national attention to the Republican proposal, ABC 13 reported.

While the exact date of their return remains unclear, Democrats say they plan to focus on Hill Country flood relief when they resume work.

On Tuesday, the House again failed to reach a quorum, with only 95 members present for the second day in a row.

Speaker Dustin Burrows warned that if the stalemate continues through Friday, the current session will end and a new one will begin.

Meanwhile, the Texas Senate passed the new congressional map in a 19–2 vote after nine Democrat senators walked out.

🚨 BREAKING — REPUBLICANS WIN: Texas House Democrats will now be RETURNING to Texas for Greg Abbott’s Special Session, where the new U.S. House Maps will be PASSED

Democrats cave AGAIN! 🤣

We’re about to have FIVE MORE Republicans US House seats! LFG! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/PFyhadEVXI

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 12, 2025

The proposed map would shift the districts of Democratic Reps. Henry Cuellar, Greg Casar, Al Green, and Julie Johnson into areas that President Donald Trump carried by at least 10.4% in 2024.

Republicans currently hold 219 seats in the U.S. House compared to Democrats’ 212, with four seats vacant.

Last Friday, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton petitioned a court to declare the absent House Democrats’ seats vacant.

Paxton accused the lawmakers of staging an “out-of-state rebellion.”

Republicans have defended their redistricting plan by pointing to aggressively drawn Democrat maps in other states:

• California: After the 2024 elections, the state sent 43 Democrats and nine Republicans to Congress, up from 40 Democrats and 12 Republicans after 2022.

• New York: Democrats redrew congressional boundaries following the 2022 midterms, placing up to six of the state’s 11 Republican-held seats in jeopardy. After 2024, Democrats held 19 seats to Republicans’ seven — a net gain of three.

• Illinois: Before the 2022 midterms, Democrats eliminated two GOP seats, including that of then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger. The state shifted from 13 Democrats and five Republicans to 14 Democrats and three Republicans in its delegation.

The return of Texas Democrats could clear the way for a final showdown over the maps.