Insult to Injury: Texas Dems Who Fled State in Failed Attempt to Thwart Redistricting Ordered to Pay Up
Insult is being added to injury for over 50 Texas House Democrats who fled the state to block the passage of a congressional redistricting map. They received a notice of fines on Thursday night, totaling several thousand dollars.
The Texas House of Representatives gaveled in on Monday with the quorum required following the absent Democrats’ return to the Lone Star State.
Texas Republican legislators then successfully moved legislation through the House Wednesday, redrawing the state’s congressional districts.
The approval of the Texas map was on an 88-52 party-line vote.
The new map may net the GOP up to five additional congressional seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently hold 25 of the Lone Star State’s 38 congressional seats, and if the change goes through, it could be 30 of the 38.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had called a second special session of the state legislature for this week after Democrats waited out the first two-week session he called earlier this month to approve the new map, along with other measures, including flood relief.
Republican officials responded to the Democrats’ absence during the first session by imposing a $500-per-day fine and issuing arrest warrants.
NBC News reported that lawmakers only make $600 in monthly salary for their part-time posts.
Brad Johnson, editor of The Texan News, posted part of the letter that the Democrat legislators received, outlining the fines that they now owe.
The letter states that the lawmakers owe $9,354.25, which is the total of $7,000 for missing 14 legislative days and $2,354.25 for their pro-rata share of the $124,943 cost to the House in securing their attendance for the second session.
Here’s part of the memo sent to Texas House Democrats who broke quorum. Shows the members incurred a $7k fine per day absence plus a share of the $125k costs incurred by the House, per the memo. Payment due 8/25. #txlege pic.twitter.com/3t4iaiXG2R
— Brad Johnson (@bradj_TX) August 22, 2025
Ouch!
Scott Braddock, editor of the Quorum Report, posted on social media that the letters went out on Thursday night.
Letters are being sent out tonight to Texas House Democrats who fled the state, most of them assessed a fine of just over $9,000 #TxLege https://t.co/teMD5EbhDP
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) August 22, 2025
The Texas Tribune reported that the state GOP controlled-Senate took up debate on the new congressional map on Friday, where it is expected to pass and then be approved by Abbott.
Democrats really have no room to whine when it comes to gerrymandering, if you look at states like Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York.
In the Land of Lincoln, President Donald Trump won 44 percent of the popular vote, but Republicans only carried three congressional races of the state’s 17 districts.
Every single person crying about the possibility of redrawing congressional maps, let me ask why you haven’t said a thing about Illinois: pic.twitter.com/ieiBDw0neQ
— Nick Schroer (@NickBSchroer) July 26, 2025
And New York Democrats pushed through a new congressional map after Republicans picked up several seats in the 2022 midterm elections, according to the New York Post.
The Republican delegation in the last Congress was 11, but in the current one it dropped to seven ot the 26 seats, despite Trump winning 44 percent of the vote.
Anytime you hear a Democrat complain about “gerrymandering,” I want you to think of this chart.
9 blue states with 32%-48% Republican voters: ZERO representation in The House.
California, Illinois, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and Oregon have 34%-46% GOP voting. Look at those… pic.twitter.com/4G6j3PJVFP
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) August 12, 2025
The mid-decade redistricting in New York is one of the reasons the GOP won such a narrow 220 to 215 majority in the House last November, despite Trump’s convincing national victory.
So what happened in Texas is just a response to what Democrats have been blatantly doing for years.
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