Dozens of Democratic state representatives in Texas gave a lesson in courage and conviction that plenty of other Democrats could learn from.
You may recall that the Texas Democrats left the state last summer in order to slow down and call attention to the Republican plan to rig the midterm elections with new gerrymandering. By leaving the state, the Democrats prevented the Republican-run legislature from reaching a quorum and passing the gerrymandering bill. They risked fines, arrest and expulsion from their seats. But they persevered regardless. Even though they knew they would not likely be able to stop Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Republicans from creating more Republican seats in Congress.
They returned home a few weeks later. But I think you could argue that although they lost the Texas battle, they won a much broader one nationally. Their efforts brought massive attention to Trump and the Republicans’ unpopular plans. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom credited their walkout for the landslide passage of his Prop 50 countermeasure in California. Virginia’s legislature is considering a similar countermeasure. And MAGA gerrymandering efforts in deep red Indiana flopped big time.
Back in Texas, a Democrat is on the ballot in every 2026 state and federal race for the first time in the state's modern history.
A special Good Guy Crookie shout-out goes to Texas Rep. Nicole Collier who was locked up in the Texas Capitol overnight because she refused to sign a Republican “permission slip” to monitor her behavior after she and her colleagues returned to the state.
