Texas Democrats decamp to Illinois to deny Republicans a quorum on redistricting

In an extraordinary move to counter Republican redistricting in Texas, dozens of Democrats in the state House are landing in Illinois to deny a quorum.

CAROL STREAM, Ill. — A showdown over redistricting in Texas played out here on Sunday as dozens of state Democrats took refuge roughly 1,000 miles away from home, saying they had fled Texas to deny a quorum to Republican efforts to add as many as five congressional seats to their map.

It culminated with Texas' governor, a Republican, threatening to expel the Democrats from the Texas state House and potentially extradite them, saying they may be "felons."

The Texas state House Democrats filed off of buses and Ubers into a crammed county party headquarters at a strip mall Sunday night, standing alongside Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to rail against what they charged was a racist, unfair and undemocratic attempt to overhaul the Lone Star State’s political map.

Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said that he believed about 57 Democrats have left the state, with the bulk staying in Illinois for at least the immediate future. Other House Democrats were in Boston and Albany, New York.