The ongoing partisan brawl in Texas over a Republican-backed plan to potentially erase five U.S. House seats currently held by Democrats is a prelude to a wider battle over voter rights and representation.
That was the message Tuesday from a Democratic lawmaker who was among those who’d left the Lone Star State, partly to frustrate that effort and to attend a nationwide meeting of state legislators in Boston.
“You’ve all heard of the game ‘Texas Hold ‘Em?’” state Sen. Carol Alvarado, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Houston, said during a news conference at the State House. “Well, we are literally holding the line on democracy, not just for Texas, but for our nation.”
“We are here to talk about, with other legislators from around the country: ‘This is coming to you. You’re next.’ This is not a Texas problem. This is a United States of America problem,” she said.
Alvarado and several of her colleagues met with Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday afternoon. They’re also slated to hold a news conference at the State House on Wednesday.
That’s the same day as the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which resulted in more than 1 million Black Americans registering to vote in the four years after it was passed, according to the Brennan Center.
They are among the 50 lawmakers who left the state to deprive Republicans of the quorum they need to pass the bill. They have argued that the Republican-authored maps would impact Black and Hispanic voters.
In his first public comments, President Donald Trump injected himself into the fiery debate, announcing Tuesday that he believes Lone Star State Republicans are “entitled to five more seats” on Capitol Hill.
If the effort in Texas is successful, Democrats would face a steeper climb as they seek to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
Republicans currently hold a 219-212 edge in the lower chamber, with four vacancies. Right now, Democrats only would have to flip a handful of seats to retake control.
Healey, already a vocal critic of the Republican White House, laced into Trump once again on Tuesday.
She expanded her critique to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Republican, who has warned that he would have the absent Democrats removed from office if they do not return home.
“They’re proposing to completely rewrite a map, out of nowhere, to take away the votes and the voices of Texans,“ Healey said. ”And the message is, not only does this have an impact on Congress, which impacts all of America, it also is something that you don’t want to see spread.”
But Abbott, [Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton], Trump, they leave states with no choice,” she continued. “I want to make sure that people have access to healthcare. I don’t want to see further cuts to Medicaid or to housing or to veterans or to poor little kids who need to eat. Okay? So that is why it becomes an issue for a governor in New York and a governor in Illinois, and a governor in Massachusetts.”
Massachusetts Secretary of State William L. Galvin, a Democrat, and the commonwealth’s chief elections officer, offered a similar sentiment.
“This is not a Texas fight. This is not some little fight down there,” he said, hinting that Democrats may also have to play hardball to counter GOP-led redistricting efforts.
“We may have to engage in those tactics,” he said. “We don’t want to, but nobody wants to do that. The answer really is not to let it happen at all. Let’s stop it in Texas. Let’s prevent this from happening. Let’s show them this is not going to work.”
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