Updated August 19, 2025 at 3:20 PM MDT
After a two-week walkout, many Texas Democrats returned to the state's Capitol on Monday, allowing Texas Republicans to press forward with redistricting plans. Democratic state Rep. Mihaela Plesa says their efforts started a "nationwide movement," but she's ready to make a legal case that Republicans redistricting maps are "racially gerrymandered maps."
"We had to come home for the legal battle," Plesa told Morning Edition. "Our election experts told us that we, too, are on tight deadlines to make sure that these maps make it in the courts and they're litigated on."
Plesa says she has faith in the courts, especially after the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the state's legislative maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
When President Trump asked Texas Republicans to draw five more congressional seats to give the GOP an edge in next year's elections, he started a national redistricting war. In at least seven other states, Democrats and Republicans have said they're willing to redraw political lines in the fight over the U.S. House.
So far, California is the only other state to take significant steps toward a mid-decade redistricting. On Friday, California unveiled a new congressional map that would give Democrats up to five new U.S. House seats.
Plesa supports California's move, saying Democrats must "fight fire with fire."
"We have always played by the rules. I think our fear is that Donald Trump isn't playing by any rules. And our concern is that if he is able to be successful in this power grab, we will see more big, bad bills," Plesa said.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has already called for a second special session, which began last Friday. Now that Democrats are back in session, Republicans' proposed redistricting maps are expected to pass.
NPR's Leila Fadel and Plesa discussed what Democrats accomplished by breaking quorum and what they plan to do next in the redistricting battle.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Leila Fadel: So the walkout is over, but the reason for that walkout is not. Republicans are still planning to vote to redraw congressional maps in their favor. So what did this walkout actually accomplish?
Texas State Rep. Mihaela Plesa: Well, this walkout accomplished two things, right? First, we were victorious in being able to kill the first called special session that the governor called that we saw was really just focused on power grabs that Donald Trump asked our governor for. And the second is that we started, really, a nationwide movement. We've woken people up to what's happening, not just in Texas, but around our country. And we're getting people involved. Really, this is their representation that's at stake. And so I'm just really proud to have met this moment and started this movement.
Fadel: Okay. So, national attention was something that was gained, but the proposed redistricting is still on the table and is expected to pass. What are Texas Democrats planning to do next?
Plesa: Well, we had to come home for the legal battle. Our election experts told us that we, too, are on tight deadlines to make sure that these maps make it in the courts and they're litigated on. We feel very confident after we just saw the Fifth Circuit Court in Louisiana rule against a Louisiana redistricting map that was racially gerrymandered. And so we have to go back to the House floor. We have to make the legal arguments on the House floor during legislative debate as to why these are racially gerrymandered maps. And we hope that when it makes it to the Fifth Circuit Court, they, too, will find in favor that these maps were racially gerrymandered and stop this power grab.
Fadel: I wanted to ask you about California. Democrats there are moving to redraw congressional maps in response to what's happening in your state, basically mirroring the effort to give Democrats more seats in California if Texas does what it's doing. What do you make of that?
Plesa: Well, I think that Democrats have to meet fire with fire. If Republicans are choosing to change the rules in the middle of the game, Democrats have to be willing to play the new game. Look, we have always been for independent redistricting commissions. Every time we see Democrats take the gavel or take a governorship, they move to make our maps more fair. Whether it's including independent redistricting committees in state constitutions like California does, or they make the system more arduous to change these maps like New York has done. And so we have always played by the rules. I think our fear is that Donald Trump isn't playing by any rules. And our concern is that if he is able to be successful in this power grab, we will see more big, bad bills. We'll see more cuts in Medicaid and Medicare. We'll see, you know, Social Security be done away with. And we might even see national abortion bans go through.
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