It looks like Texas Democrats have decided their stunt has generated enough media that they can now declare victory and go home. There are reports at ABC News that the Dems who fled the state now plan to return having wasted an entire special session in hotels in California, Illinois and New York.
ABC13 has confirmed with multiple sources that House Democrats will return to Texas.
Eyewitness News has not confirmed the date, but we do know that Democrats believe they’ve accomplished their mission by killing the first special session and by raising national awareness about the mid-decade redistricting effort.
An exact date hasn’t been announced but the current session will expire Friday.
ABC News has not confirmed the date that Democrats plan to return or if they will return in a group, though one source told ABC News the House Democrats loosely plan on returning this weekend…
Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Tuesday morning that the chamber will sine die on Friday, rendering the current special session adjourned if Democrats do not return by then.
Shortly after the story broke, ABC News in Houston got a statement from a spokesperson:
“Members are still assessing their strategies going forward and are in a private meeting to make decisions about future plans currently,” he wrote. “If and when Texas House Democrats breaking quorum decide to go home is squarely dependent on the actions the Governor, Speaker, and Texas Republicans in charge make with regard to prioritizing flood victims over redistricting that hurts Texans.”
Republicans have been pointing out since the Democrat fled that their decision to do so meant a vote could not be hold on funding for flood victims. It was a bad look and it sounds like Democrats are now trying to demand that issue be made the first order of business in exchange for them returning to work.
This looks like a pretty standard play to shift responsibility for their behavior onto Republicans. If Gov. Abbott and state Republicans refuse to give them what they want, Democrats will claim the lack of a vote of flood relief is Republicans’ fault. They are essentially holding themselves hostage and making demands.
But there could be other reasons they are buckling now. For one, they are no longer getting paid (all checks must be picked up in person) and a judge ruled that Beto O’Rourke’s political group could not pay for their travel, food and lodgings because it’s fundamentally a vacation. Given that each Democrat is currently racking up $500 per day in fines for being absent from the special session, the pressure to return to work is definitely mounting.
Finally, the state Senate passed the new map despite a last minute walkout by some Senate Dems.
The Texas state Senate approved new Republican-drawn maps Tuesday night, which have led House Democrats in Texas to flee the state…
During the vote, nine Democrats exited the floor in protest, but two remained on the floor, which allowed the Senate to reach a quorum. The vote to pass the new maps eventually gained approval by the Senate following a 19-2 vote.
Here’s video of the walkout:
BREAKING – Nine Texas state Democrats walked out to block the redistricting vote but they failed as the Texas Senate passed the map anyway. pic.twitter.com/Z60js9iQk0
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) August 12, 2025
I think it’s clear Democrats have gotten all they are going to get out of this. Now they’re just hoping they can declare victory even as they fold like a cheap suit and come home. What have they actually accomplished other than generate headlines? Nothing at all.
I guess we’ll have to wait and see if Republicans are willing to negotiate with the hostage takers or simply prefer to let this ride while the the fines escalate.
