The Dallas Morning News editorial board has criticized Texas Governor Greg Abbott, calling his support for GOP-backed redistricting maps and actions against Democrats who fled the state a “power grab” and “corruption of the political process.”
Newsweek reported that it contacted Abbott’s press team for comment on Friday. Texas Democrats have voiced strong opposition to the redistricting plan, which would create five additional Republican-leaning seats for the 2026 midterm elections.
Under the Texas Constitution, the 150-member House needs at least two-thirds of its members present to conduct business. Democrats hold 62 seats, and at least 51 left the state, according to House Democratic Caucus spokesperson Josh Rush Nisenson.
Abbott has condemned the lawmakers who left earlier this week, labeling them “derelict” in an August 3 statement and threatening to remove them from office if they did not return by the following afternoon.
As of Friday, enough Democrats had still not returned, leaving the House five members short of quorum, the third such occurrence this week. The Associated Press reported that 95 members were present.
The Dallas Morning News editorial board, representing a district affected by the proposed map, wrote, “The governor’s power grab is a corruption of the political process.” The redistricting plan is expected to give Republicans at least five more seats in the 2026 midterms, a critical boost to maintain the party’s slim U.S. House majority.
The board added, “Abbott has threatened to remove lawmakers from their seats, based on a single opinion from a Texas attorney generally with the credibility of a $3 bill,” warning that such a move would “disenfranchise millions of Texas voters and directly assault democracy.”
The editorial also noted that the proposal would remove Fort Worth’s only nonwhite congressional representative and redraw a diverse Dallas County district, currently represented by Democrat Julie Johnson, to favor Republicans.
Earlier this week, the Houston Chronicle also criticized Abbott, accusing him of prioritizing “a Republican power grab” over addressing Central Texas flood recovery. The paper argued that Abbott could have redirected hundreds of millions of dollars by executive action or called a special session focused on the crisis but instead followed the agenda of President Donald Trump and his allies.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a Friday press release that the Democrats who left “have abandoned their duties” and “sabotaged the constitutional process,” urging the Texas Supreme Court to declare their seats vacant.
Senator John Cornyn said Thursday that FBI Director Kash Patel had approved his request to help locate the absent lawmakers, thanking Trump and Patel for their support in holding them accountable.
Democratic state Representative Claudia Ordaz posted on X that she was absent for personal health reasons but was still targeted by officers searching her family’s home and falsely accused of being present to make quorum.
Abbott posted on X that he will “call special session after special session—no matter how long it takes—until the job is finished.”
Democratic state Representative Ramon Romero Jr. told CNN the caucus will continue to fight, invoking past civil rights struggles. The Texas House is set to reconvene Monday in hopes of restoring quorum. The disputed redistricting map is for next year’s midterms, seen as a key test for the Trump administration and the GOP.
