Texas residents sharply criticized Democratic state lawmakers who fled the state this week to avoid a key vote, telling Fox News Digital the move undermines their responsibility to represent voters.
In Houston, locals voiced frustration over the decision to leave Texas rather than participate in a vote on the GOP’s proposed congressional district map. Many described the tactic as irresponsible, regardless of political affiliation.
“There should be consequences on both sides. It’s happened both ways. And I feel like if you’re, you know, elected, and you’re holding a seat, and you’re supposed to represent the people, I don’t care which side of the aisle you’re on. You show up every time you do it,” James said. “It’s your job,” he added.
Dozens of Democratic state lawmakers left Texas earlier in the week, aiming to block a quorum on the redistricting proposal that could give Republicans as many as five additional U.S. House seats in 2026. The plan, backed by President Donald Trump, has been criticized by Democrats as disenfranchising minority voters.
Texas House rules require at least 100 of its 150 members to be present to conduct legislative business. To prevent that, many Democrats traveled to Illinois, where Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker welcomed them. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that they’re welcome here, that they have the ability to stay as long as they need to and want to,” Pritzker said Sunday.
Calvin, a Houston resident originally from Seattle, argued the walkout would be unacceptable in any other job. “If these were regular jobs, people would probably be in a lot more trouble for this,” he said. “If I didn’t show up for a meeting, I’d probably be in trouble.”
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to arrest lawmakers who fail to return. In a Sunday statement, Abbott wrote, “This truancy ends now. The derelict Democrat House members must return to Texas and be in attendance when the House reconvenes at 3:00 PM on Monday, August 4, 2025. For any member who fails to do so, I will invoke Texas Attorney General Opinion No. KP-0382 to remove the missing Democrats from membership in the Texas House.”
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows said he would sign arrest warrants for absent Democrats if authorized by a chamber vote. Abbott has also asked the Texas Department of Public Safety to detain the lawmakers.
Some residents said punishment should be measured. Glenn told Fox News Digital, “I don’t think that they should be going to jail or anything like that, but maybe they need to do something to get the Democrats and the Republicans to work together on this.” James agreed that there should be repercussions, though arrests seemed “a little bit harsh.”
Calvin, however, felt warrants would be “justified,” even if actual arrests were unlikely, calling them more of a “threat to get them back to voting on the redistricting.”
When asked if the tactic was a threat to democracy, Hannah doubted many Americans even notice such events, saying, “A lot of people just don’t go out and vote themselves.” James disagreed, calling the move “absolutely” a threat to democratic norms.
Ian, another Houston resident, argued Democrats should focus on winning more elections instead of avoiding votes. “As long as they’re in the minority, one of the problems that they have is that they may not get their way,” he said.
Glenn concluded, “I do. I think that’s not right.”
