HOUSTON - When Republicans gained complete control of the Texas Senate and House in 2002, Sugar Land Rep. and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay started pushing for congressional redistricting that would improve the Texas Republican presence in Washington. That process started in the 2003 legislative session, and Democrats made many of the arguments they're making now about disenfranchising Democratic-leaning voters. Then, as now, when they could not beat the measure, House Democrats escaped to Oklahoma until time ran out for the bill to proceed. Later, in a special session, Senate Democrats went to New Mexico, where they stayed until the session ended.
Then-Governor Rick Perry called a subsequent special session, and the new map was approved.
The maps, largely, survived legal challenges and resulted in a Republican majority, in the Texas delegation, for the first time since Civil War reconstruction.
What they're saying:
"What they're doing here is signaling the intensity of their opposition, as well as put a national spotlight on Texas' redistricting effort, in the hope that both it generates a counter-reaction in democratically-controlled states, but also damages the Republican party in Texas, in terms of its image," says Rice University political analyst Mark Jones, about the Democrats actions. "I think the danger for Republicans is, more, that they're drawing aggressive maps assuming voters in 2026 are going to vote like they did in 2024: very strongly Republican. If they miscalculate and voters vote like they did in 2018, during Donald Trump's first term, and Republicans have a much weaker election, instead of increasing Republican seats, this could result in the loss of one or two Republican seats."
The Source: Interviews and Fox 26 archives