Texas Democrats vow to use delay tactics to drag out GOP redistricting effort

Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.

---

As the Texas Legislature’s overtime special session kicked off Monday, Democratic lawmakers promised to make their Republican colleagues’ efforts to redraw the state’s congressional maps as painful and protracted a battle as possible. They threatened to drag out hearings, filibuster and even flee the state to deny the quorum necessary to conduct legislative business.

As the minority in both chambers, Democrats have few options to stop redistricting through normal legislative channels. While they’ve managed to delay controversial legislation through filibusters and quorum breaks over the years, they’ve never successfully killed such a high-profile measure through these back-door methods.

Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said they still have to try, “whether we win or lose, no matter what happens.”

In a letter to Gov. Greg Abbott sent Monday, a majority of House Democrats called on the governor to prioritize responding to the Central Texas floods, saying they “refuse to engage in any other legislative work until after adequate flood relief and disaster mitigation legislation are passed and signed by the Governor.”

In the Senate, meanwhile, Democrats spent almost four hours debating a resolution setting the rules for redistricting, a preliminary step to allow Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to create a committee.

All but one Democrat took a turn at the mic, meticulously walking through the resolution, challenging individual proposals and pressing GOP Sen. Phil King, the chamber’s newly appointed redistricting panel chair, to explain why it was necessary to craft new maps. One by one, each member forced an extended discourse over topics from the limitations of virtual versus in-person hearings to the limits of broadband access in rural areas to the intricacies of the Voting Rights Act.

“I thought what we asked today were very substantive questions, very crucial questions that deserve an answer, and there were things that could not be answered,” said Houston Sen. Carol Alvarado, the Senate Democratic Caucus leader. “And so we will continue to ask questions and discuss this, as long as it takes.”

The special session can last no longer than 30 days, and alongside this unusual mid-decade redistricting, lawmakers have been directed by the governor to address the devastating July Fourth floods; regulate THC products; reduce property taxes; and pass a slew of conservative priority bills. Abbott can call lawmakers back as many times as he wants if they leave any of those items unfinished.

The Republican-dominated Legislature drew Texas’ existing electoral maps in a 2021 special session, adjusting for population changes measured by the 2020 census. That map gave the GOP firm control of 25 of the state’s 38 congressional districts. But after pressure from President Donald Trump, they’re returning to the drawing board to try to eke out at least a few more congressional seats ahead of what could be a challenging midterm election for Republicans.

Houston Rep. Gene Wu, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said Monday that all options are on the table to delay or block redistricting entirely. While a quorum break is the most discussed option, members said they were also considering various delay tactics that would at least give them time to educate voters on what they framed as an attack on democratic values.

“If Republicans and Donald Trump [are] allowed to cheat our democracy … without any kind of resistance, then there is no hope for us anywhere in this nation,” Wu said.

The Houston Democrat criticized Abbott for putting redistricting on the same special session agenda as flooding relief, saying the promise of legislation responding to the deadly Central Texas floods was a “ruse” to get Democrats to show up to the Capitol.

“We will see if they prioritize what Texans have actually demanded first, or will they prioritize their politics and the shenanigans and their games?” Wu said.

The first House committee hearing on disaster relief is scheduled for Wednesday.

On Monday, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, appointed a new committee to handle redistricting, made up of 12 Republicans and nine Democrats and chaired by Rep. Cody Vasut, an Angleton Republican. The committee’s first hearing is set for Thursday in Austin, followed by hearings in Houston and Arlington. Each hearing will limit public testimony to five hours.

On the Senate side, King indicated there would be four hearings, likely virtual. Senate Democrats filed four amendments to require more hearings and mandate that they be held in-person. All four were voted down by the chamber’s Republican majority.

Sen. Molly Cook, D-Houston, asked King to commit to allowing testimony from anyone who wants to speak. King said he would try to get everyone in, noting that committee hearings often go until the wee hours of the morning as chairs try to hear from everyone.

King, a Weatherford Republican, tried to keep the focus on the narrow rules proposal before the chamber, repeatedly telling his colleagues that they’d have a chance to hash out all their concerns once the redistricting process got under way.

“All we’re doing here today is trying to take up the responsibility that we were constitutionally given,” King said. “We just have to adopt this resolution.”

Despite the impassioned and, at times, lengthy speeches, the Senate voted 19-11 to approve the rules. Already, Democrats were preparing for the likelihood that the maps will eventually be approved by the same party-line margin.

“We’ll do whatever we can as the minority to stop it, but if we can’t, if reality deprives us of that option, the story is what they’re doing,” Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, said. “We will fight like hell to stop this, but we’re not the ones who are doing it.”

---

The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 13–15. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today!

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.