"It's imperative at this moment to use every tool that we have to fight back," Isaiah Martin, a candidate running in Texas's 18th congressional district.

After leaving the state to block the G.O.P. from redrawing the state’s congressional maps, Democratic lawmakers are keeping the pressure on from afar.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday called a second special session to push through a redrawing of congressional maps to secure up to five more Republican seats in the US House.

Lawmakers are now framing their ability to prevent new maps from passing during one special legislative session as a victory. But Republicans are poised to call another.

Democratic state lawmakers who left Texas to block controversial new congressional maps backed by President Donald Trump are planning a return to the state early next week, shifting tactics so they can fight the plan in court.

Texas Democrats have moved closer to ending a nearly two-week walkout that has blocked the GOP's redrawing of U.S. House maps before the 2026 election.

The Texas Democratic lawmakers who decamped to Illinois to block a redistricting effort in their state faced threats of arrest and criminal charges if they didn’t return home

Republican leaders said that if they can't reach a quorum again at 10 a.m., both the House and Senate will wrap up the special session.