A child starting kindergarten is a milestone most American families wouldn't dare miss, but it's one John Bucy will be absent from this month when one of his daughters takes a first step in her education.
The 41-year-old Texas state legislator, whose district includes parts of northern Austin, is among the more than 50 Democratic lawmakers who've fled the Lone Star State to thwart President Donald Trump's effort to protect his razor-thin Republican majority in Congress. He packed his suitcase to be gone for 30 days – maybe longer.
"It makes me scared. It makes me sad," Bucy said in an interview about his self-imposed exodus from his family. "I want to be a part of their lives every chance that I can. But what scares me more is if I'm not here, if they grow up and things are worse off in this country because we didn't stop this gerrymandering."
More: Why Trump's political war in Texas is much bigger than the Lone Star State
Bucy is staying at an undisclosed hotel in Illinois while he and his fellow Democrats continue to block their Republican colleagues from conducting official business back in Austin, such as the rare mid-decade redrawing of their state's maps that define congressional district boundaries. He said he's still in touch with his legislative staff, who are keeping up with constituents and connecting them to state agencies.
