.....One problem with the run-down-the-clock strategy is that, in the past, Texas courts have simply postponed the state’s primary while congressional maps were being litigated. (That delay likely contributed to Ted Cruz’s 2012 Senate victory.) Another challenge is keeping up the political will; as time drags on, Texas voters will want their representatives to come home and do their job. Then, there are the logistical issues. A long quorum break means that Texas Democrats spend weeks or months living in a hotel, away from their families and racking up bills. Many of those state lawmakers have jobs outside politics—jobs that might not be well suited to working remotely from a hotel conference room. A few members brought small children with them to Chicago, Hinojosa told me, and some of those children will probably have to be back in school soon. “We’ve seen it before,” Rottinghaus said. “The biggest pull for members to come back isn’t always the politics; it’s most often the personal.”
When I asked Texas Representative Ana-María Rodríguez Ramos how long she was willing to stay in Chicago, she told me that she understands the burden this puts on families; her own daughter is recovering from a liver transplant. “Am I prepared for two weeks? Three weeks? What is the alternative?” she asked. “If this is a sacrifice that we need to make, then it’s the sacrifice that has to be made.” But two or three weeks probably won’t be enough. (It’s possible, Rodríguez Ramos suggested, that the state’s 11 Senate Democrats, who remain in-state, could take their own turn breaking quorum; only one chamber needs to do so to stop legislation from being passed.)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s threats complicate the picture. This morning, he suggested that if Democrats “don’t start showing up,” Republicans will add a few more GOP seats to the new map. He has promised to fine the runaway Democrats $500 each for every day that they’re gone, and to go after any groups raising money for them. Abbott has also suggested that he’ll kick the....
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