Texas Rep. James Talarico, one of the Democrats who fled his state in protest of GOP redistricting plans, has described his party’s mass exodus from Texas as a “spiritual struggle,” going on to accuse Republicans of being “deeply racist” while emphasizing his party’s push for “power grabs” to oppose redistricting that could give the GOP five additional House seats in Texas.
For background, on August 5, 20205, Texas State Rep. James Talarico (D), who splits his time between the state House and seminary, spoke in a webinar about Texas Democrats’ mass exodus from their state in protest of the GOP’s redistricting plans, calling the flight an act of faith and describing the resistance to redistricting as a “spiritual struggle,” going on to say that he and his fellow Democrats were planning “blue state power grabs” to counter the GOP’s push for redistricting.
According to press accounts, Rep. Talarico said during the webinar that democracy “is a lot more than just a constitution,” adding, “It’s a covenant.” He went on to say that, in his view, Texas Republicans are “attempting to break that sacred promise with every suppressed vote, with every gerrymandered district.”
In addition, the state lawmaker told those present at the webinar, “We don’t just have Christians in our caucus: We have Jews and Muslims, we have atheists and agnostics,” explaining, “We joined together hand in hand and said a prayer to the power of love and its ability to give us strength and peace and comfort as we embark on this journey on behalf of our constituents and the people of Texas.”
Furthermore, Rep. Talarico said that the push for redistricting in Texas is “at a whole ‘nother level, because they are attempting to redraw those Texas maps in the middle of the decade because Donald Trump has requested that they give him five more seats in Congress.” The lawmaker added, “It’s a little reminiscent of when the president called the Georgia secretary of state and asked him to give him 11,000 votes. Thankfully, Georgia Republicans said, ‘No, sir.’ Texas Republicans said, ‘How about Thursday?’”
Additionally, the representative called the redistricting plan “deeply racist” and accused the Republicans of trying to break apart “minority-majoirty districts,” adding, “My hope is that by threatening retaliation, by maybe even, in some cases, moving forward with retaliation, with blue state power grabs, that that can convince my Texas Republican colleagues and maybe even the president to walk back from the brink.”
Notably, Talarico and the other Democrats who fled Texas for Illinois, New York, and other blue states were met with a serious threat from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on August 5, 2025. The attorney general warned that members of Congress had until Friday, August 8, “to return to Texas and present themselves before the House,” adding, “Any lawmaker who has not been arrested and returned or fails to appear by the Speaker’s deadline will be subject to aggressive legal action.”
Moreover, AG Paxton said that the Democrats who fled Texas had “abandoned their offices” and failed “to respond to a call of the House,” constituting “a dereliction of their duty as elected officials.” Furthermore, he warned, “The people of Texas elected lawmakers, not jet-setting runaways looking for headlines. If you don’t show up to work, you get fired.”
Featured image credit: Rep. James Talarico via X