Wait, wait, wait – we’ve heard this story before! Elected Democrats in Texas decided to leave their jobs at the legislature because they don’t like something.

In 2003, Texas Democrats left for Oklahoma because they didn’t like the congressional redistricting maps. In 2021, they left for Washington DC because they disagreed with a voting rights bill. And now, “it’s like déjà vu all over again” – the Democrats in the Texas legislature are once again big mad that the congressional redistricting maps are being redrawn after the 2020 census, so they are going to run away and hide in Illinois.

“We’re leaving Texas to fight for Texans,” said Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu. “We will not allow disaster relief to be held hostage to a Trump gerrymander. We’re not walking out on our responsibilities; we’re walking out on a rigged system that refuses to listen to the people we represent. As of today, this corrupt special session is over.”

The map would change the state’s landscape by creating five new Republican seats, which President Trump has pushed for in order to keep the U.S. House majority. The maps, which were unveiled last week, are part of an effort to create new district lines before the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans hope to pass it during a special 30-day session of the GOP-dominated Legislature called by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott.

On Saturday, the Texas State House Committee gave the green light to push the proposed map forward to the House floor.

The vote, which was expected to happen on Tuesday, was moved to Monday.

So in order to deny the Texas House a quorum, these House legislators are running away to gain attention for themselves.

The people of Texas urged us to do anything we could to stop the Trump Regime's attempt to take political power away from millions of working families.

We heard you.

That’s why we’ve decided to deny quorum and fight this power grab with everything we’ve got. #txlege pic.twitter.com/oQDiRfozdq

— Rep. Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos (@Ramos4Texas) August 3, 2025

And they have the blessing and support of Governor JB Pritzker of Illinois himself.

You have to love the branding on that stage’s backdrop! Remember, Pritzker thinks that he’s going to run for president himself. What better way to keep his name in the spotlight and present himself as opposition to President Trump than giving Texas Democrats a little emotional support? It costs him nothing politically, and gains him the goodwill of Democrats across the country. Except one thing…

Fleeing to Illinois, the most egregiously gerrymandered state in the country, to make as clear as possible this stunt is about partisanship not principle. Chef's kiss. https://t.co/xsXRxFqPHy pic.twitter.com/DmVcEmxan2

— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) August 4, 2025

Oh yeah, THAT. But hey, Gavin Newsom supports them too! But… California is just as gerrymandered as Illinois, and Newsom’s threats to re-do the state congressional map right now would be blocked by California’s own laws. Also, Texas Democrats are forgetting something – namely, how their previous running away stunts have worked out for them.

It is also worth noting that everyone knows this is just for show because they’ve done it before.

In 2003, Dems fled the state to prevent a vote on redistricting. They played this game for a month and eventually came back and it passed. Same thing with the 2021 voting bill.

— AG (@AGHamilton29) August 4, 2025

These Texas Democrats are still going to be in the minority when they finally go home. Governor Abbott can keep the legislature in session indefinitely, if he chooses, by continuing to call special sessions. Denying the Texas House a quorum won’t last forever. Eventually, these legislators will have to go home. The question is, just how painful will it be when they return?

For the record, the redistricting that the Texas House is looking to do is apparently completely legal in Texas, because the congressional maps are drawn by the state legislature. The other state where the Republicans are looking to redraw a favorable map, Ohio, is legally required to do so before the 2026 midterms. It’s also worth noting that the United States Census Bureau itself admits that there were counting problems with the 2020 census, and this resulted in states getting congressional seats that they should not have, and states missing out on congressional seats that they should have gotten. One of the states that was “undercounted”? Texas. And five out of the seven “overcounted” states are blue states. If the count had been accurate, who knows what the House would look like right now. Democrats have long used redistricting to keep their numbers – and control – up. Now, they are faced with getting a taste of their own medicine, and they’re finding it’s pretty bitter to be on the losing end.

One Texas Democrat who is deeply concerned about losing out? Jasmine Crockett.

Firebrand Democrat Jasmine Crockett faces being booted from Congress after Republicans proposed a heavily gerrymandered redistricting map that would mean she no longer lives in her district.

Crockett has made headlines numerous times in recent months as a key critic of the Trump administration, and the redistricting issue is the latest one she has spoken out on.

Before anyone gets too excited, Twitchy has a reminder for us all.

Crockett is crying racism, but the redistricting increases her district’s population from 40% black to 50%. Her chances of getting voted out are still about zero.

Congressional representatives are not required to live in the districts they represent, just live in the state the district is in. So Crockett’s going nowhere.

Oh well. We all knew Jasmine Crockett was no brain trust. Sadly, there’s probably no getting rid of her unless she gets bored with her job.

Maybe she can go hang out in Illinois and lend her support to her fellow Texas Democrats. I’m sure that they would love to have her company. Exactly how long do they plan on mooching off Pritzker’s “hospitality” while they hide from carrying out their elected duties? In 2021, they lasted six weeks. And they don’t all need to come back – only 12 of them need to break ranks for a quorum to be achieved. They can’t stay in Illinois in perpetuity. Eventually, people want to go home to their families. Right now, these Democrats are riding the sugar rush of attention and adulation. That won’t last, and reality – plus fines, possible arrest, or whatever else Governor Abbott decides – will eventually sink this stunt. In fact, the only person who is benefiting right now from these Texas Democrats running away from their jobs? JB Pritzker. Good job, guys!

Featured image: Democrat donkey caricature via DonkeyHotey Flickr, cropped and modified, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)