Republican Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain is calling for Republicans to embrace a national redistricting push, even as his own statehouse remains paralyzed by a Democratic quorum break.
Cain tweeted on August 17, “Let’s get to work!” in response to political commentator Chris Cillizza, who had posted a map showing states under Republican control that could redraw their congressional districts mid-decade. Cillizza posted a day earlier, “In a re-redistricting war, Republicans would win,” alongside a New York Times graphic labeling dozens of GOP-led states as “states that could redraw their maps.”
The map highlighted the numerical advantage Republicans hold, with far more states under single-party control than Democrats, who are largely limited to California, Oregon, Illinois, and Maryland. Cillizza, a former Washington Post and CNN analyst, framed the standoff as a potential arms race in which Republicans would start from a position of strength.
Cain’s encouragement comes as the Texas House of Representatives is unable to act on redistricting due to the absence of more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who fled the state on August 3 to block the GOP-backed plan. The Republican proposal could add as many as five new GOP-leaning congressional districts in Texas, a state already central to national battles over redistricting.
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans have escalated efforts to pressure Democrats back to the Capitol.
Abbott has threatened removal from office and called the boycott a “forfeiture” of legislative duty, while Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit to declare their seats vacant. The House speaker has suspended direct deposit for absent members, and civil arrest warrants have been issued.
The fight in Texas has reverberated nationally. Democratic governors in California and New York have floated ways to redraw their own maps in response, despite both states having independent redistricting commissions that limit legislative power. California Gov. Gavin Newsom said, “We’re going to fight fire with fire,” while New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed to explore “every option” to counter Texas.
Legal, political and logistical hurdles may stall those efforts until after the next election but Cain’s call to “get to work” suggests some Republicans are eager to see their advantage translated into action.
Whether Texas itself will manage to redraw its maps remains uncertain. The special session ends August 19, and Democrats have signaled they intend to remain out of state until then, leaving Republicans without the quorum required to move forward.
With the U.S. House narrowly divided, 219 Republicans to 212 Democrats, with four vacancies, the outcome of Texas’s fight could tip the balance heading into 2026.
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