Texas Dems Slammed For Fleeing to One of the ‘Most Corrupt Gerrymandered States’ to Avoid Gerrymandering Vote

Screenshot / Sheryl Cole on X

Texas state Rep. Sheryl Cole (D) sparked a wave of condemnation when she posted a photo of herself and other Democratic Party lawmakers boarding a private plane to Chicago to flee a Texas House vote to further gerrymander the state.

Some 50 Texas Democrats fled the state’s borders over the weekend in order to deprive the GOP-led House of a quorum – a minimum amount of members present to conduct official business. The move is meant to delay or thwart the Texas GOP’s move to try and redistrict the state in an effort to pick up 5 seats in the 2026 midterm elections.

Cole wrote on X, “I’m heading to Chicago right now to stop this rigged-redistricting process. We can’t allow Donald Trump and Greg Abbott to steal power from the people with these proposed congressional maps. We are continuing to hold the line, no matter what.”

Pundits and observers, including some on the left, were quick to point out one glaring issue with Cole’s post. CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski shared Cole’s post and added, “Was there nobody on the PR side who was like maybe we shouldn’t go to one of the most corrupt gerrymandered states in the country?”

Former NBC political director Chuck Todd offered a similar take on CNN earlier on Monday. After explaining why the Democrats may be able to shut down the Texas gerrymander by fleeing the state, Todd added, “The part that I think is sort of bad, I think it’s a bad look for a party that claims to be always trying to be a protector of democracy, is to hole up in a state that gerrymanders, the state of Illinois.”

“I mean, one of the worst, you know, look, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Maryland, those are your four giant gerrymander states—- and if you’re trying to make a point on gerrymander, I don’t think I’d be going to the state of Illinois as a place to hide,” Todd concluded.

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