Texas Democrats Are Asking for Donations

After leaving Texas for Illinois to prevent a legislative vote on a Republican redistricting plan, state House Democratic leader Gene Wu needed a means to project his voice—and viewpoints—to a national audience. So he tapped his campaign account to buy a microphone for news conferences. When it came to covering the hefty hotel bill for Wu and his roughly 50 colleagues, the lawmaker said he relied on money from his chamber's Democratic Caucus. Now Texas Democrats are pleading for donations to help finance what could be a walkout of weeks—if not months—in a high-stakes attempt to prevent the Republican majority from passing a plan sought by President Trump, who is urging Texas and other GOP-controlled states to redraw their congressional districts to help Republicans maintain control of the US House in next year's midterm elections, the AP reports.

"We're getting a lot of small-dollar donations," Wu told the Associated Press, "and that's going to be used to help keep this thing going." A political group led by Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman who ran unsuccessfully for governor and Senate, gave money to the Texas House Democratic Caucus to help cover the up-front costs, according to a spokesperson for the group, Powered by People. O'Rourke this week has been holding events in red states to fire up Democrats and encourage donations.

By departing the state, Democratic lawmakers have prevented Republicans from obtaining the quorum needed to conduct business. Democrats hope to run out the clock on a special legislative session that ends Aug. 19. But Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could immediately call another session, raising the prospect of a prolonged and an expensive holdout. Not only could Texas Democrats face thousands of dollars in out-of-state lodging and dining costs, they also could eventually face fines of $500 for each day they are absent, which under House rules cannot be paid from their office budgets or political contributions. The House Democratic Caucus has set up a website seeking donations of between $25 and $2,500—with a default amount of $250. (See more at the AP.)