The district war continues: Newsom presents the new California map while Texas is paralyzed without quorum

Control of the House of Representatives is already in play and well before the polls open. This Friday, both California Democrats and Texas Republicans made decisive moves to try to increase their share of seats in the House.

In Texas, the first special session called to redraw congressional districts again ended without progress, after the intentional absence of Democratic lawmakers who broke quorum. However, hours later, Governor Greg Abbott made good on his promise and immediately called a second special session to insist on exactly the same agenda.

Meanwhile, in California, Democrats in the state legislature and Governor Gavin Newsom presented the promised alternative electoral map that seeks to neutralize the Republican offensive, seeking to add the same number of seats for their party.

Texas advances to the second session

The Texas legislative chamber failed for the sixth time to muster the necessary quorum and finally adjourned the first special session that sought to address the redistricting plan pushed by Abbott and backed by President Donald Trump. However, less than two hours before adjournment, the Republican governor called a second special session, with redistricting and disaster response at the center of his priorities, in addition to other conservative measures and bills.

“Delinquent House Democrats ran away from their responsibility to pass crucial legislation to benefit the lives of Texans,” Abbott declared. “We will not back down from this fight. That’s why I am calling them back today to finish the job. I will continue to use all necessary tools to ensure Texas delivers results for Texans.”

While the state House formally began its second session, the Democratic majority is still out of state, again preventing the House from convening. However, House Speaker Dustin Burrows said a quorum should be reestablished Monday, before the Labor Day long weekend, to move forward on the governor's agenda.

Democrats' "fundamental" conditions

Meanwhile, the Texas House Democratic Caucus publicly reported Friday that it is willing to return to the state under two fundamental conditions that were met as the hours passed. The first point is that the first special session called by Abbott to redraw the districts be formally closed, something that, according to the legislators themselves, they had hoped to reach a consensus internally before announcing their next steps. Unity, they assured, was reached this Thursday.

The second condition was directly linked to California. Texan Democrats said their return would depend on the presentation of the new California maps, which, in their words, would be decisive in stopping the Republicans' initiative in Texas.

Newsom's move in California

The signal Texas Democrats were hoping for came the same day from Sacramento. The state's Democratic lawmakers, following a call by Gov. Gavin Newsom, announced the filing of a congressional map that could add as many as five additional seats for Democrats in the federal House of Representatives. The same number of seats that are likely to be added by Republicans in Texas.

The proposal will go to a special election on Nov. 4, bypassing the independent commission that traditionally manages this process in the Golden State.

The plan takes direct aim at five Republican representatives - Kevin Kiley, Doug LaMalfa, David Valadao, Darrell Issa and Ken Calvert - whose districts would become much more competitive. The Democratic governor, who is being heavily criticized for his proposal, defended his strategy as a response to the redistricting put forward by Republicans.