Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is applauding a group of state lawmakers who left Texas in protest of a Republican-led redistricting plan that could secure the GOP a powerful advantage ahead of the 2026 elections.
Taking to Instagram on Sunday night, Crockett delivered an impassioned five-minute message backing her Democratic colleagues for walking out on the controversial vote. “My colleagues, my former colleagues in the state house, they say, ‘Deuces! We out. We don’t like what you doing.’ So I’m really excited. And I am so thankful because this is the type of fight that the American people need to see,” she said.
The redistricting plan would strengthen Republican control in Texas, where they currently hold 25 of the state’s 38 U.S. House seats. Under the proposed map, Donald Trump would have carried 30 districts by double digits in 2024. Now, Democrats say the effort is less about representation and more about Trump’s grip on power.
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“We understand that this ridiculous tyrant is trying to do everything that he can to break our democracy,” Crockett added, referring to Trump. “But there are democracy defenders that believe in absolutely standing up for the people. They understand the assignment.”
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Crockett, who now represents the Dallas area in Congress, rose to national attention in 2021 when she joined a similar walkout to stall a GOP-backed elections bill. Now, history appears to be repeating itself, except this time, the lawmakers are headed to places like Chicago and New York in protest. “They understand who they swore an oath to. They understand that they don’t serve him. We don’t serve him. He not ours. He’s not our constituent. He is not,” she said of Trump.
Texas Republicans, meanwhile, argue that Democrats are abandoning their duties. Gov. Greg Abbott condemned the walkout on Fox News, accusing them of putting politics before disaster relief efforts after devastating July floods killed over 130 people.
“Our fellow Texans are being let down and not getting the flood relief they need because these Democrats have absconded from the responsibility,” Abbott said. “And I believe they have forfeited their seats in the state legislature because they’re not doing the job they were elected to do.”
But Democrats say it’s Abbott and his allies who are derelict. “Over 130 Texans died in the July 4th floods,” wrote state Rep. John Bucy III on X. “Republicans responded with zero flood relief bills — and a mid-decade redistricting scheme to help Trump cling to power. That’s not governing. That’s exploitation. We broke quorum because Texans deserve better.”
Crockett didn’t hold back on Trump, referring to him in her Instagram video as an “orangutan” and “Temu Hitler.” She continued, mocking the MAGA brand: “That’s what makes you real MAGA, is like, you got to be about this thug life. You gotta be, like, cheating on your wife. You got to at least be going to get impeached if you ain’t been impeached.”
Her district could be affected directly. The new maps would cut her home out of her current district entirely, reshuffling political lines in a state already sharply divided.
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Abbott gave Democrats until 3 p.m. Monday to return to the legislature. At press time, they had not.
