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| Texas Rep. Gene Wu leads Democratic walkout |
In the middle of the Texas gerrymandering scheme and the partisan war is lawmaker Gene Wu, who led the Texas Democratic legislators' walkout as a tactic to prevent the Republicans from further reconfiguring the state's congressional districts to give Republicans five new seats.
Donald Trump's order for Texas to create five more GOP-majority districts
has triggered signal an extraordinarily dangerous period for American democracy.
Texas State Rep. Wu says the push to redraw political maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections is designed to protect Trump and the Republican-majority Congress from the expected midterm voter backlash, particularly from Asian, Black and Hispanic communities.
Speaking at the Aug.14 news conference — jointly organized by American Community Media and Houston Ethnic Media — Wu said: “What they’re trying to do is rewrite the rules in the middle of the game because they know they know they’re going to lose. Everything that’s happening is so incredibly unpopular, not just what President Trump is doing, but also what Republicans are doing in Congress.”
Wu contnued: “Trump’s big, beautiful bill makes massive cuts to communities all across Texas, not just in liberal cities, but also in rural communities. It also affects farmers, also affects workers, affects everybody. And people are starting to wake up to that and they know this. Republicans know this and they know that people are gonna blame them for going along with Trump. And so they’re trying to cut it off preemptively."
The gerrymandered maps easily passed the GOP-dominated state Senate on a 19-2 vote. The proposal then moved to the House which couldn't act on the motion because they couldn't muster a quorum beecause 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state two weeks ago.
The Texas Democrats announced Aug. 14 that they plan to return Aug. 18, after the end of a special session imposed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The governor will have to call another special session to get the redistricted maps passed.
The gerrymandering effort was instigated by Trump but put into motion by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who wants to produce five new seats for Republicans, mid-decade (long after the census taken every 10 years). Texas already has one of the most gerrymandered states but this motion where Democrats have only a smidgen of input. The new effort will further erode the representation of Asian, Black and Hispanice voters.
The Asian American population in Texas has grown fast. From 2022 to 2023, the population of Asian Texans increased more than any other racial group in the state and outpaced overall state growth, driven by a population surge of South Asians, the largest Asian American group in the state, according to the US Census Bureau.
If the new maps are adopted, the influence of Black and Hispanic voters will be weakened or diluted. In addition, the growing Asian American populations in Fort Bend County and Southwest Houston would be cut apart and reassigned to districts that are geographically distanced, reducing their power as a voting bloc.
One of the worst offenders is state Sen. Mayes Middleton. “Is Gene Wu back in China?” the Texas Tribune reports.
The media outlet quotes Middleton saying. “If he wants a refresher course on Marxism, I’m sure the CCP will take him back.”
Middleton's office did not respond to the Texas Tribune's request for a comment.
Wu, for his part, has refused to take the racist remarks and red-baiting and respond to the allegations. However, other Democrats have criticized the overt racism.
“Gene has strength and grace that not a lot of us probably would have if we were tested in similar ways,” says Rep. Chris Turner, who sits next to Wu on the House floor. He told the Texas Tribune: “That said, it’s infuriating, it’s unacceptable and the people who are responsible for it ought to be ashamed. But again, in today’s Republican party, there is no shame.”
“There was a time where someone made a racist comment — especially in a community setting or in a testimony — we would have our elected officials move swiftly to correct them, to correct the record, to defend our elected officials,” said Amatullah Contractor, of the Asian American Democrats of Texas, who was interviewed by the Texas Tribune. “When our elected officials start making these comments, then it is a free for all.”
If the new maps are adopted, the influence of Black and Hispanic voters will be weakened or diluted. In addition, the growing Asian American populations in Fort Bend County and Southwest Houston would be cut apart and reassigned to districts that are geographically distanced, reducing their power as a voting bloc.
Wu, an immigrant from China, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012 and has been a leader of the Texas Democrats for years. He has endured racist insults for his entire political career. His prominent role in the walkout unleashed another round of hate from conservatives, including the state's Republican leaders, accusing him of an allegiance to the Peoples' Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.
The media outlet quotes Middleton saying. “If he wants a refresher course on Marxism, I’m sure the CCP will take him back.”
Middleton's office did not respond to the Texas Tribune's request for a comment.
Wu, for his part, has refused to take the racist remarks and red-baiting and respond to the allegations. However, other Democrats have criticized the overt racism.
“Gene has strength and grace that not a lot of us probably would have if we were tested in similar ways,” says Rep. Chris Turner, who sits next to Wu on the House floor. He told the Texas Tribune: “That said, it’s infuriating, it’s unacceptable and the people who are responsible for it ought to be ashamed. But again, in today’s Republican party, there is no shame.”
“There was a time where someone made a racist comment — especially in a community setting or in a testimony — we would have our elected officials move swiftly to correct them, to correct the record, to defend our elected officials,” said Amatullah Contractor, of the Asian American Democrats of Texas, who was interviewed by the Texas Tribune. “When our elected officials start making these comments, then it is a free for all.”
As the Texas Democrats filter back to their state, they will most likely face retaliatory actions from the Republicans.
In retaliation to Wu's leadership, Gov. Abbott is seekingt to remove Wu from his seat because the Chinese American politician was not fulfilling his "constitutional" duty while he was out of state. The Texas Republican Attorney General has asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove all of the absent Democrats from office.
“If our voices no longer matter, if what we say no longer matters, then there is no democracy left,” responded Wu, saying he will contest any attempt to remove the Democrats from their elected positions.
“If our voices no longer matter, if what we say no longer matters, then there is no democracy left,” responded Wu, saying he will contest any attempt to remove the Democrats from their elected positions.
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| California Gov. Gavin Newsom launches effort to counter Trump's electoral scheme. |
The Texas Democrats' unusual action brought national attention to Trump's scheme to subvert the democratic process in favor of the Republicans because the GOP is afraid it would lose in a straight-up election.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would fight fire with fire. If the Trump scheme is passed in Texs, He would seek to gerrymander his state's district to remove California's few Congressional Republicans from their districts.
“California will not sit idle as Trump and his Republican lapdogs shred our country’s democracy before our very eyes. In just six months, Trump’s unchecked power has cost Americans billions and taken an ax to the greatest democracy we’ve ever known," Newsom said in a press statement. "This moment calls for urgency and action – that is what we are putting before voters this November, a chance to fight back against his anti-American ways.”
“California will not sit idle as Trump and his Republican lapdogs shred our country’s democracy before our very eyes. In just six months, Trump’s unchecked power has cost Americans billions and taken an ax to the greatest democracy we’ve ever known," Newsom said in a press statement. "This moment calls for urgency and action – that is what we are putting before voters this November, a chance to fight back against his anti-American ways.”
“Texas House Democrats broke quorum and successfully mobilized the nation against Trump's assault on minority voting rights," Wu said in his Aug. 14 statement. “Facing threats of arrest, lawfare, financial penalties, harassment, and bomb threats, we have stood firm in our fight against a proposed Jim Crow congressional district map.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, BlueSky,on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.
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