Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D) urged his social gathering to “struggle again” on Sunday as Democratic legislators left the Lone Star State in an effort to dam Republicans from advancing Home maps that will hand the GOP five extra pick-up opportunities earlier than the 2026 midterms.
“My Democratic colleagues and I simply left the state of Texas to interrupt quorum and cease Trump’s redistricting energy seize. Trump is making an attempt to rig the midterm elections proper earlier than our eyes. However first he’ll have to come back via us,” Talarico mentioned in a thread on the social platform X. “It’s time to struggle again.”
“They’re turning our districts into loopy shapes to ensure the end result they need within the 2026 elections. If this energy seize succeeds, they’ll hold on to energy with none accountability from the voters. However Texas Democrats are preventing again,” he added in a video posted on the location.
The Democratic legislator, who has drawn consideration not too long ago after being featured on Joe Rogan’s podcast, told NewsNation’s “The Hill” present final week that Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) “try to rig the following election.”
“I do know that sounds dramatic, however … now by redrawing the political maps, they’re making an attempt to insulate themselves from the need of the voters,” he mentioned.
Talarico told KXAN late final week that he was open to breaking quorum to dam the redistricting effort, however referred to as such a transfer a “final resort.”
“Breaking quorum is an excessive step, and it’s not one thing that must be taken flippantly,” he mentioned.
Texas state Home Democrats mentioned Sunday they were denying Republicans a quorum, or the least quantity of lawmakers wanted current in an effort to conduct legislative enterprise, after a state Home panel over the weekend advanced proposed congressional maps aiming to make Texas’s district strains even friendlier to Republicans.
Texas Home Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu on Sunday accused Republicans of “utilizing an deliberately racist map to steal the voices of hundreds of thousands of Black and Latino Texans, all to execute a corrupt political deal.”
“Apathy is complicity, and we is not going to be complicit within the silencing of hard-working communities who’ve spent many years preventing for the facility that Trump desires to steal,” Wu added in an announcement.
“We’re leaving the state, breaking quorum and stopping Republicans from silencing our voices and rigging the following election. We’re not preventing for the Democratic Occasion. We’re preventing for the democratic course of, and the stakes couldn’t be greater. We’ve got to take a stand,” Talarico mentioned Sunday.
The Hill has reached out to the White Home and the Texas Republican Occasion for remark.