Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos, File)
Texas state Rep. Gene Wu speaks to the crowd before California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a rally with Harris County Democrats at the IBEW local 716 union hall on Nov. 8, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren, File)
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Supreme Court on Friday refused to declare that Democratic lawmakers who briefly fled the state in 2025 to block a vote on new congressional voting maps pushed by President Donald Trump had vacated their office.
The all-Republican court dealt a blow to Gov. Greg Abbott and state Republicans in their efforts to severely punish the more than 50 Democrats who bolted for New York, Illinois and Massachusetts in a bid to stop a vote on the maps during a special session. State Republicans had sought their arrest and threatened fines to bring them back to the state Capitol.
Abbott had argued in a lawsuit filed directly to the state’s highest civil court that state Rep. Gene Wu, the leader of the House Democratic caucus, and others had effectively abandoned their office.
