Texas Democratic lawmakers have returned to the state after just two weeks away, allowing Greg Abbott and Republicans to carry out their racist redistricting plan which will further entrench far-right power in the state.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu is claiming a major milestone because the Dems “killed the corrupt special session,” allegedly “reshaping the entire 2026 landscape.” What Wu fails to mention is that Governor Abbott has already called another special session with the same agenda, including the racist redistricting.
Wu is also excited to declare that “our return [to Texas] allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court,” something that will presumably play out over years if the Dems win this fight at all. Without a mass movement organizing to demand this, there is no guarantee that the U.S. court system will protect our rights.
Now that the Democrats have returned to the state, granting the legislature quorum, they will sit alongside their Republican colleagues as the legislature guts voting rights for millions of working-class Texans. But not only that: the Democrats have granted the legislature quorum to further attack abortion rights and trans people, both items on the special session. By caving to the far-right agenda without anything to show for it, Texas Democrats are potentially presiding over their own demise.
Texas Dems conditioned their return on a promise by California to similarly redraw their districts in favor of their own party. What sort of victory for democracy is this, where our political representation is treated as a pawn in a game, decided for us by one of the two ruling-class parties carving out power for themselves on a map?
The Dems can delude themselves that this constitutes a “victory” based on their short-term goals, but this reveals the true farce at the center of American “democracy,” and the Dems’ unwillingness to fight for the working class. Only a movement of the people can stop these racist redistricting plans. As the Texas Democrats rejoin their Republican friends in the halls of power, the working class of Texas must keep organizing for a different type of power: the power of the people.
Feature image: House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu speaks to the press after returning to the Texas Capitol. Credit: CW39 Houston Youtube screenshot
