Texas’ runaway Democrats head home in defeat, but California joins the redistricting fight

Texas Democratic lawmakers waved the white flag and planned to head home after trying and failing to stop Texas Republicans from carrying out President Trump’s plan to redraw their state’s congressional district maps.

The 13 Democrats who temporarily thwarted the redistricting effort by taking refuge in Democratic-led states said they would retreat to Texas after the Legislature adjourns from its special session and after California Democrats rolled out a plan to draw up a retaliatory map.

“We will return to the House floor and to the courthouse with a clear message: the fight to protect voting rights has only just begun,” the Texas House Democratic caucus said in a statement.

They said their attorneys advised them to return “to build a strong public legislative record for the upcoming legal battle.”

Gov. Greg Abbott and the Republican-led Legislature have refused to back down from their plan to redraw congressional district lines, which is expected to net Republicans five more seats in the midterm elections.

Mr. Abbott announced this week that, starting Friday, he would continue to call special sessions to address redistricting until the Democrats return.

Texas Democrats say Republicans are trying to dilute the electoral power of minority communities.

The battle has sparked a nationwide debate, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking the lead for Democrats.

Mr. Newsom and Democratic leaders in California announced Thursday that they plan to put a ballot question before voters in the November election to allow the state Legislature to draw more partisan maps in response to the move in Texas.

“We’re giving the people of this state the power to save democracy, not just in California but all the United States of America,” said Mr. Newsom, standing at a podium that read “Election Rigging Response Act.” “I hope we are waking up to this reality. Wake up, America. Wake up to what Donald Trump is doing.”

Mr. Newsom, a possible contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has been among the most vocal critics of the redistricting efforts in Texas. If successful, the Texas plan could boost the House Republicans’ chances of defending their slim majority next year and passing more of Mr. Trump’s agenda in his final two years in office.

“They want to rig these elections, and they want the power that gerrymandering provides because they know what Donald Trump knows: He’s going to lose the midterms,” Mr. Newsom said. “He knows, de facto, his presidency ends in 17 months.”

The referendum would shift power away from the independent redistricting commission that has overseen California maps for more than a decade, allowing the Democratic-led Legislature to carve out new districts before the 2026, 2028 and 2030 elections.

Mr. Newsom said Mr. Trump and his allies are so scared of the effort that they sent U.S. Border Patrol agents to conduct an immigration operation outside the event.

“Do you think it is coincidental?” he said.

In Texas, the Democrats temporarily disrupted their state’s redistricting effort by fleeing the state, leaving the Legislature without the necessary quorum to act on the proposal.

The Democratic lawmakers have faced fines and lawsuits filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the U.S. Senate.

Mr. Paxton has sought to expel the 13 House members who fled the state and has asked a judge to hold former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, another possible Senate candidate, in contempt for ignoring a temporary court order and continuing to fundraise in support of the fleeing Democrats.

That mounting sense of inevitability in Texas has fueled a nationwide sense of urgency among Democrats, who say Mr. Trump has shown that he will do anything to retain power.

The Newsom press conference featured the who’s who of California politics, including its congressional delegation and the heads of powerful labor and pro-choice groups that warned if Texas gets its way, the Trump administration will double down on its efforts to harass immigrant communities, pass a national abortion ban and water down the strength of unions.

“You come after our votes in California, and we will fight you tooth and nail,” said Sen. Adam B. Schiff, California Democrat. “Donald Trump, you do not poke the bear, not while we’re around.”