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By Alia Shoaib
Reporter
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Dozens of Texas Democrats have left the state to deny Republicans the quorum needed to advance a GOP-led plan to redraw the state's congressional map.
Here's what we know about the current whereabouts of all of the Texas state Democrats based on social media posts, news reports and other publicly available information.
Why It Matters
Texas Democrats have staged a revolt over a Republican-led redistricting plan, which they say is designed to manipulate the congressional map to entrench Republican power.
Read More on Politics
There are 62 Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives, and over 50 of them are believed to have broken quorum and left the state to prevent a vote. Senior state Republicans have called for the dissenters to be arrested.
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What To Know
Newsweek identified the locations of 52 Texas Democrats. The majority appear to have gone to Chicago, Illinois, or to New York, and a handful have remained in Texas.
Some of these representatives are occupied with personal business. Representative Salman Bhojani said in a statement that he was traveling overseas due to a family medical emergency, and Representative Claudia Ordaz said she had been excused due to a health matter.
Both expressed support for their fellow Democrats.
Meanwhile, Representatives Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez have gone to Massachusetts.
Several other Democrats have publicly confirmed they are breaking quorum, but their whereabouts could not be immediately ascertained.
Texas Democrats Confirmed to Be in Illinois as of August 4
- John H. Bucy III (Austin)
- Harold V. Dutton Jr. (Houston)
- Ann Johnson (Houston)
- Ramon Romero Jr. (Fort Worth)
- James Talarico (Round Rock)
- Chris Turner (Grand Prairie)
- Charlene Ward Johnson (Dallas)
- Gene Wu (Houston)
- Rafael Anchía (Dallas)
- Sheryl Cole (Austin)
- Diego Bernal (San Antonio)
- Nicole Collier (Fort Worth)
- Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (San Antonio)
- Jessica González (Dallas)
- Christina Morales (Houston)
- Jon Rosenthal (Houston)
- Toni Rose (Dallas)
- Ana-María Ramos (Richardson)
- Ron Reynolds (Missouri City)
- Trey Martinez Fischer (San Antonio)
- Lauren A. Simmons (Carrollton)
- Venton Jones (Dallas)
- Rhetta Bowers (Garland)
- John Bryant (Dallas)
- Liz Campos (San Antonio)
- Aicha Davis (Dallas)
- Josey Garcia (San Antonio)
- Terry Meza (Irving)
- Donna Howard (Austin)
- Linda Garcia (Dallas)
- Gina Hinojosa (Austin)
- Vince Perez (El Paso)
- Ray López (San Antonio)
Texas Democrats Confirmed to Be in New York as of August 4
- Lulu Flores (Austin)
- Cassandra Garcia Hernandez (Austin)
- Vikki Goodwin (Austin)
- Jolanda "Jo" Jones (Houston)
- Suleman Lalani (Fort Bend County)
- Mihaela Plesa (Plano)
- Erin Zwiener (Driftwood)
Texas Democrats Confirmed to Be in Texas as of August 4
- Eddie Morales Jr. (El Paso) said he has remained in Texas to manage his business, but has suggested that he is still breaking quorum. He was not present in the House Chamber on Monday.
- Joe Moody (El Paso) said he supports his fellow Democrats who have left but feels he can fight back best from the Capitol.
- R.D. "Bobby" Guerra (Mission)
- Terry Canales (South Texas)
- Oscar Longoria (South Texas)
- Armando Martinez (Weslaco)
- Sergio Muñoz (South Texas)
- Richard Peña Raymond (Laredo)
What People Are Saying
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on X: "Texas House Democrats abandoned their duty and are holding flood relief and property tax cuts hostage. I ordered Texas DPS to arrest and return every derelict House Democrat to the Texas Capitol."
Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu said: "Gov. Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump so that Donald Trump can steal these communities' power and voice...We will not be complicit in the destruction of our own communities. We're not here to play political games. We're here to demand an end to this corrupt process."
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said of the Texas Democrats in his state: "They're here in Illinois. We're going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them and make sure that, cause we know they're doing the right thing, we know that they're following the law."
What Happens Next
Texas Democrats who left the state say they plan to stay away until the special legislative session ends.
Without a quorum, the Texas House can't proceed with the redistricting vote.
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