Texas AG Ken Paxton Vows To “Hunt Down” and Arrest Democrats “No Matter Where They Go”

After the devastating and deadly flooding last week in Kerr County, Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced a special session related to emergency disaster aid that will include redistricting voting maps before the 2026 midterm elections.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and others slammed the Abbott move as a “gerrymandering” tactic that would allow “politicians to choose their voters and undermine free and fair elections.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom agreed and said the special session was a way for the Texas GOP to “cheat their way into more Congressional seats.”

According to multiple media reports, Jeffries and DNC Chair Ken Martin are encouraging Texas House Democrats to “deny quorum” in an effort to fight against Governor Greg Abbott‘s redistricting. If Democrats deny quorum (not show up for the special session, which is scheduled for Monday, July 21 at 12 noon), the proceedings of that session are invalid.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for Senator John Cornyn‘s seat in next year’s Republican primary, responded to reports of Democrats considering an attempt to deny quorum with a warning.

Paxton wrote: “If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go. The people of Texas elected them to do a job, not run away and hide like cowards. Lawmakers must answer the special session call and pass the important priorities that the Governor has put forward.”

Paxton added: “My office stands ready to assist local, state, and federal authorities in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office and their constituents for cheap political theater.”