°µÍø½ûÇø

The standoff began Aug. 3 and has escalated quickly, including Republican Gov. Greg Abbott the House Democratic leader from office in an attempt to end the holdout. GOP leaders have also threatened to arrest Democratic House members on civil warrants and have launched investigations into who's paying for their travel.

Here's a breakdown by the numbers.

5 more seats sought by Republicans

Texas has 38 congressional seats and Republicans are control of five more congressional seats in Texas, a bump up from the 25 seats they currently hold in the U.S. House.

If the Texas redraw moves forward, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said he wants his state Democratic seats in retaliation. His party currently controls 43 of California's 52 House seats.

10 years between typical map redrawings

Redistricting after the once-a-decade population count by the U.S. Census Bureau, or in response to a court ruling. President Donald Trump has pushed for Texas to break from that tradition with a rare mid-cycle redrawing.

38 days before Texas Democrats relented last time

Many of the Texas Democrats who left the state this week in protest against new voting restrictions. Once they returned, Republicans passed them into law.

51 Democrats to keep the holdout going

At least 51 of the 62 Democratic members must be absent to prevent a vote on the new congressional maps. A majority of Democrats — 54 — were not on the House floor Tuesday.

Many have gone to Illinois and New York, where Democratic governors have offered support.

432 seats in the U.S. House

At stake in the redrawing of congressional maps is control of the U.S. House after the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans currently hold 219 seats, and Democrats have 212. There are four vacancies.

$500 daily fines imposed on Texas Democrats

Under Texas House rules, Democrats would pay the fine as punishment for each day they are absent. The Republican-controlled House put that penalty in place after the last walkout by Democrats in 2021.

___

Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.