Texas Democrats flee to Illinois to block Trump-backed GOP redistricting plan

Forty Texas House Democrats fled to Illinois on Sunday to deny Republicans a quorum needed to approve new maps that would expand the state’s GOP congressional majority ahead of next year's midterm elections.

Texas Democrats joined Gov. JB Pritzker at a Sunday night news conference in Carol Stream, where the Democratic governor called President Donald Trump a "cult leader" and "would-be dictator of the United States" for demanding mid-decade redistricting. He was also defiant in saying that Democrats would have to explore their own map options if the Texas plan goes forward.

"The fact that we are very good in Illinois about delivering for the people of Illinois and the people react to that and vote for our candidates is very different than cheating mid-decade by rewriting the rules because their cult leader Donald Trump tells them to do it," Pritzker said. "...Remember, all bets are off when the cult leader, and you know, would-be dictator of the United States tells Texas to midstream change the game when they know that they're going to lose in 2026. All bets are off. Everything's got to be on the table."

Pritzker was asked how a Democratic remap in response to the GOP effort wouldn't be considered another form of "cheating."

"The cheating here is the fact that we are midstream in 2025 and they want to rewrite the map, and for only one reason. The cult leader of their party tells them to do it because he knows he's going to lose control of the House of Representatives," Pritzker said.

Texas Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu called Republican efforts "a sham process" that will have a dangerous ripple effect on Americans.

"If this is allowed to go unchecked, this is going to spread across our country and rip it apart," Wu said.

The walkout, which Texas Democrats called an “extraordinary and necessary step,” came a day after a House panel advanced a congressional map that would add five new Republican districts next year.

The rare mid-decade redistricting plan comes amid pressure from Trump to draw new maps to protect the GOP’s narrow 219-212 majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"This is not a decision that we take lightly, and all the things that we are doing right now, we're doing it because we feel that this is the only way we can protect Texans," Wu said of leaving Texas. "This is the only way we can protect Americans."

Pritzker met with Wu in Oklahoma on June 28 after delivering a keynote address at a Democratic Party dinner, and the two discussed the possibility of Democrats leaving Texas to deny a quorum, according to a source close to the governor.

Pritzker offered up Illinois as a place of refuge for the Democrats, and his team has helped to coordinate hotels and meeting spaces in Chicago.

Texas Republicans called a special state legislative session at Trump’s urging last month to consider redrawing their political maps in an effort to carve out the additional districts that would be more favorable to GOP candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.

Texas Republicans hold an 88-62 majority in the House and a 19-11 majority in the state Senate, leaving Democrats in that state with few options.

Moving the lines in Texas would give Trump more breathing room to advance his agenda in the U.S. House and Senate, where Republicans hold razor-thin majorities.

Pritzker on July 25 hosted Texas Democrats for a South Side roundtable discussion about the remap and voiced support for a Democratic counterbalance should Republicans rewrite the maps.

Pritzker's openness to a remap prompted complaints from Illinois Republicans, who accused him of signing "one of the most extreme gerrymandered maps in the country," a claim he denied.

The Illinois Supreme Court earlier this year rejected an Illinois GOP legal effort to scrap the state’s current map approved in 2021 and authorize an independent redistricting commission.

The latest map led to Illinois Democrats picking up an additional seat in Congress for a delegation now totaling 14. Republicans lost one seat and now have three U.S. House members. Democrats hold all statewide offices and wield supermajorities in the Illinois General Assembly.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month vowed to counter Texas' redistricting plan by having California redraw its boundaries. Last week, Newsom said he's exploring a November special election to have voters approve new House maps for that state.

Both Newsom and Pritzker are largely seen as potential 2028 presidential contenders.

Texas Democrats are planning additional events in Illinois in the coming week to highlight their redistricting fight. Besides the Democrats in Illinois, several flew to New York and plan to hold a news conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday morning. There are also some Texas Democrats in Boston attending the National Conference of State Legislatures.