() Texas Democrats vowed to continue their fight Tuesday against redistricting efforts backed by Republicans.
Lawmakers were joined by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin, just one day before the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
Pritzker and other Illinois leaders pledged to back the lawmakers, saying Republicans were following President Donald Trump’s lead regardless of what was asked.
“When Donald Trump says jump, Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton says, ‘How high?'” Pritzker said. “They don’t care that they’re violating the Voting Rights Act and racially gerrymandering their state. They’re hoping they can rob the bank and get away before anyone notices.”
Martin accused Trump of attacking the Constitution and said the issue was at a standoff between the two sides.
“This is not the Democratic Party of your grandfather, which would bring a pencil to the knife fight. This is a new Democratic Party, and we’re bringing a knife to a knife fight and we’re fighting fire with fire,” Martin said
“Instead of prioritizing disaster relief for flood victims, Texas Republicans are abusing their special legislative session to tilt the electoral map in their favor in a desperate attempt to cling to their razor-thin Congressional majority during the midterms, after voting to cut health care and food benefits for millions of Texans,” the lawmakers said in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called for the lawmakers’ return and issued civil arrest orders for those who left the state. Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to arrest and return the absent members.
Texas Democrats fled their state over the weekend to prevent a special session of the legislature from attaining a quorum, which is needed for the state House to vote on legislation.
While the special session was called to vote on disaster relief for victims of the devastating Fourth of July floods, Texas Republicans are using it to push through a rare, mid-decade redistricting plan that would give the GOP five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
President Donald Trump has led the push for gerrymandering as a way for Republicans to continue to hold a majority in Congress after the midterm elections.
Democrats have called the plan racist and a threat to democracy.
“Texas has a long and shameful history of discrimination against minority voters. Texas cannot do that anymore,” said Texas state Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, a Democrat.
Some governors in blue states, including New York, have suggested they will redraw their own maps in response.
“This is a war,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday.
