Texas politics – Lee Duigon

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks during a press conference alongside dozens of fellow Texas lawmakers and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker in Carol Stream, Ill., on Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025.

They fled to Illinois to avoid voting

Politics, politics! Where the normal rules of civilized behavior go to die.

Texas Republican legislators want to enact a redistricting plan which would get them more votes. Democrat reps want to stop it. So they did what legislators always do when it seems the vote won’t go their way.

Forty of them ran away before the vote could happen (https://www.independentsentinel.com/gov-abbott-might-remove-the-40-fleeing-democrats-from-office/).

It’s all a lot of poo-poo. They can delay the vote, but it’ll only be held when they come back. Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbot has threatened to remove absconding Dems from office. And then I guess it’s off to the Supreme Court.

Before we break out the handkerchiefs and smelling salts, let’s remind ourselves that Democrats have used redistricting exactly as the Republicans mean to do in Texas.

Anyhow, the governor’s deadline is today afternoon. Let’s see if he makes good on his threat.

The Democrats could use a harsh lesson or two.