The bitterness that marks the Texas redistricting drama shouldn’t come as a surprise — the fight that’s gripping the country is nothing less than a proxy war between national Republicans and Democrats for control of Congress.
But there’s also a history between the two ambitious governors at the center of the conflict — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — that’s fueling the acrimony.
The backstory between Abbott, who is attempting to bulldoze the new congressional map through his state’s legislature, and Pritzker, who’s provided a safe haven for the Democratic lawmakers who have fled Texas and championed their prerogatives, dates back to 2022.
At the time, Abbott rolled a political grenade into Pritzker’s backyard by shipping hundreds of migrants to Chicago with little but the clothes on their backs — and with no prior warning to state and local officials. Since then, Abbott has sent nearly 120,000 migrants to blue states across the country, including more than 51,000 in total to Illinois.
The move was part of a gambit to draw attention to the nation’s porous borders and the burden it imposed on border states like Texas. But it was also designed to turn the tables on blue states with sanctuary laws — like Illinois — and call out blue state leaders for their “hypocrisy” on the issue.
“Governor Pritzker was all too proud to call Illinois ’the most welcoming state in the nation’ until Governor Abbott began transporting migrants to Chicago, ” an Abbott spokesman said last year.
The firestorm surrounding the current proposal to redraw the Texas congressional map has enabled Pritzker to return the favor.
Pritzker has welcomed the wayward Texas Democrats with open arms. He’s strategized with them, and his team has even assisted in managing logistics for the out-of-state lawmakers in their efforts to prevent a quorum back home that would enable a vote on the map.
The Illinois governor — who, like Abbott, is considered a top 2028 presidential prospect — has also used the moment to rip into his Republican rival.
When Abbott posted on X earlier this week that “Texans don’t run from a fight — they face it head on,” Pritzker offered a concise response.
“Greg Abbott is a coward,” he wrote.
Pritzker appeared at a nationally televised news conference Tuesday, flanked by Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Al Green, and some of the nearly 30 Democratic state representatives who flew to Illinois to break the Texas quorum. There, the Illinois governor described Abbott and his Republican allies as yes-men to President Donald Trump.
“They say, ‘Yes, sir. “Right away, sir. Happy to lick your boot, sir,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker later appeared on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” poking again at Abbott.
With Pritzker carrying the blue state banner and Abbott representing the red states, the two mega-state governors — both of whom were on their respective parties’ VP short lists in 2024 — turn out to be perfect foils for each other.
Their posturing in the redistricting fight elevates their profiles on the national stage in advance of 2028 and frames each as a smashmouth fighter at a time when both party bases are demanding confrontation with the other side.
“They have a positive use for each other, maybe Pritzker even more,” political consultant James Carville said. “It doesn’t seem like much of a loser for either one. Especially if Democrats are successful at this.”
The real question, adds Carville, is “what does it mean for 2028? It’s going to be pretty significant. If the question is, ‘are they both using it to enhance their political brand,’ the answer is yes. But I think Pritzker will get more good out of it. It’s too good to be true for him.”
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