by Around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, a hotel in the Chicago region broadcast a warning over its loudspeakers: bomb danger, leave immediately.
As state and municipal police officers searched the hotel and conference center in St. Charles, Illinois, dozens of Democratic lawmakers from Texas and hundreds of other visitors hurried outside before concluding the threat was unfounded.
The incident, which could not be linked to any political rivals, was representative of the strain that has been building on the lawmakers since they left their state on Sunday to stop Republicans from passing a radical redraw of the congressional map at President Trump’s request.
Democrats in Texas have been unable to dodge growing legal and political challenges that have gone farther and come faster than many of them had expected, based on previous walkouts in 2021 and 2003. Illinois, a Democratic state, was meant to be a safe haven. They are still unsure of how long they can hold out and are hope to survive until the end of the August 19 special legislative session they left behind.
State Representative Ron Reynolds, a Democrat from Houston who was among the gathering at the St. Charles hotel, said, “They’re using hardball, unconventional, authoritarian tactics that we didn’t see in 2021.” People are worried. We’re keeping an eye on things.
Those strategies don’t stop.
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, demanded on Tuesday that FBI agents enlist the Democrats who had set up camp in Illinois. Mr. Trump appeared to support the involvement of federal officials. Although the agency has not responded, he stated that evening that they might have to.
Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, began action to remove the missing lawmakers from office that same day. At first, that caused scoffs. Hours later, Governor Greg Abbott petitioned the Texas Supreme Court in an emergency, requesting that the state’s highest court remove Houston State Representative Gene Wu, the leader of the walkout, from his Texas House seat, arguing that Wu had abandoned it.
Mr. Wu was given till Friday night by the state’s high court to reply. Additionally, Mr. Paxton has given the Democrats who have been missing until Friday to return before he starts the process of removing many of them.
In a Newsmax interview, Mr. Paxton stated, “We are in uncharted territory.”
Mr. Paxton continued to apply pressure on Wednesday, declaring that he had opened an inquiry into Powered by People, a Democratic political group led by former U.S. Representative Beto O. Rourke, for possibly providing cash for the walkout, which he ominously implied was an unlawful bribe.
In a statement, Mr. O. Rourke was combative. He made reference to the 2023 impeachment process against Mr. Paxton, which resulted in his acquittal in the State Senate, when he claimed, “The guy impeached for bribery is going after the folks trying to stop the theft of five Congressional seats.”
The Democratic lawmakers did not anticipate this outcome. Most people expected the most recent walkout to follow previous trends: first, Republican annoyance, followed by a few civil arrest warrants that aren’t enforceable outside of Texas, and then, after a few weeks, a grudging surrender as Democrats came back to observe Republicans pass their measures.
Republicans haven’t followed that plan. Additionally, a number of Democrats from Texas privately expressed their expectation that the walkout would only last until the conclusion of the special session. They acknowledged that, eventually, perhaps by the end of the month, the Republican attempt to ram through a rare and brazenly politicized mid-decade redistricting would be successful.
Democrats have contributed through acts of solidarity and disobedience, as well as regular press conferences in Massachusetts, New York, and Illinois.
“They know they’re going to lose in 2026 if they don’t breach the rules, if they don’t cheat,” said Democratic Governor JB Pritzker on Wednesday, during the presentation of a butter cow sculpture at the Illinois State Fair.
However, Democrats in Texas have also had to defend themselves against the Republican leaders’ activities.
Following Mr. Abbott’s action to remove the governor from office, Mr. Wu issued a statement stating that “denying the governor a quorum was not an abandonment of my office.” It was my oath being fulfilled.
The Republican side has been one of the factors that has set this walkout apart from previous ones. In their fierce primary contest for the U.S. Senate next year, Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Paxton have both seemed keen to demonstrate how hard they can be on the Democrats who aren’t present.
Republican leaders in Texas have launched an inquiry into Mr. O. Rourke’s group as part of a larger campaign accusing the missing Democrats and those funding them of breaking criminal bribery laws. The Texas Rangers have been instructed by Mr. Abbott to look into the matter.
The notion of launching their own probe has been discussed by a few Republicans in the Texas House. State Representative Mitch Little, a Republican from the Dallas region, stated, “I think it’s the right move.”
Democrats have already accomplished one goal in spite of the pressure. They have increased the stakes and taken the battle beyond of Texas by bringing the Republican gerrymandering attempt to the attention of the country.
How long should other states have to plan their redistricting efforts? State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer, a Democrat from San Antonio, stated that every day provides another state the guts to make that decision. We will see them at the finish line if Donald Trump is going to be in a race to the bottom.
In order to do this, Democratic officials in California stated that they were considering creating their own maps, which would be redesigned to favor Democrats, in order to have them appear on the ballot in November. Conversely, Republican states like Indiana and Missouri are thinking about holding special sessions to redo their congressional districts.
Democratic politicians from all around the nation convened at the State House in Massachusetts on Wednesday with the sole message: Texas comes first. Next is your state.
California State Assembly majority leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry said, “We’re proud of our independent system for picking districts, but we can’t roll over while the Republicans cheat.” California has laws requiring congressional districts to be created independently.
According to Gov. Gavin Newsom, he wants to suspend those regulations and ask voters to adopt a new map that would only take effect if Texas approved its revised version.
It should not be long before Mr. Newsom finds out if Texas approves him. For the Texas House to hold votes, at least 100 of its 150 members must be present. The strike would essentially end if only a small number of the 54 Democrats who were not present this week returned to Austin.
State Representative Chris Turner, a Democrat from the Dallas region, stated, “We are not deterred.” Our group has decided to let this unique session end. The attention has been on it.
He said he expected the battle to finally go to court after that.
According to him, the Texas Legislature currently houses the battlefield. The next struggle will ultimately take place in the federal courts if the map is approved in Texas.
Chris Hippensteel from Massachusetts and Julie Bosman from Chicago also contributed to the reporting.
