Abbott says fleeing Dems will have to stay out for years to stop new political maps

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) suggested Democrats who fled his state to stop a new set of GOP-friendly maps from being passed would have to stay out of the state for years in order for the tactic to work.

“I’ll tell you this also, Democrats act like they’re not going to come back as long as this is an issue,” Abbott told NBC News in an interview on Thursday. “That means they’re not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028, because I’m going to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there.”

Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have called for the arrest of Texas Democrats who fled the state starting Sunday, as they seek to deny Republicans the minimum number of lawmakers needed to do business during their special session — while also ultimately blocking the ability to pass a new set of House lines favoring the GOP.

The governor said earlier Thursday that the FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety were “tracking down” the Democrats who left his state.

When asked by NBC News if the FBI had a legitimate role to play in the situation, Abbott replied: “I’m not going to disclose though all may or may not be involved.” He added that they would use “every tool that we can” to hold those who left the state accountable.

Experts that spoke with The Hill this week were skeptical that the FBI had jurisdiction to get involved as it’s unclear what federal offense Texas Democrats ran afoul of.

It also remains unclear how long Democrats will remain out of the state. Texas committees in the state House and state Senate both passed an identical House map that aims to give Republicans five pick-up opportunities that President Trump said the GOP is “entitled to” next year.

That would set up floor votes in the Senate and House respectively, but with Democrats out of the state, those efforts are stalled. The maps will inevitably pass given Republican majorities in the state Capitol and the Governor’s Mansion.

The redistricting battle, however, is prompting blue states to explore their options to do mid-decade redistricting in response.

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