Texas Democratic state lawmakers delayed the vote by fleeing the state, but enough returned this week for the body to reconvene.

Former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is the preferred candidate among Democratic voters in the state’s 2026 Senate race, according to recent polling — despite having lost three major races within a span of four years.

They already have more power than the vote totals justify,” Scudder said. “This isn’t about fairness — it’s about locking in control.”

Texas Democrats end walkout as GOP-controlled legislature prepares to vote on redistricting maps that could flip five congressional seats to Republicans

The Republican-controlled Texas legislature is expected to pass a new congressional map creating five new winnable seats for the GOP at the behest of President Donald Trump.

The gambit has triggered a national redistricting war, with governors of both parties threatening to initiate similar efforts in other states.

The effort is intended to help the G.O.P. win five more U.S. House seats in the midterm elections. Other states, red and blue, are likely to redraw their own maps.

More than 50 Texas Democratic lawmakers who fled their state two weeks ago in protest of their Republican colleagues’ aggressive redistricting plans have returned, restoring quorum and allowing the GO