The Texas House reconvened Friday morning in its sixth attempt to make a quorum, after Democrats left the state to protest a redistricting plan expected to favor Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.

After failing to reach a quorum Tuesday morning for the fifth time in more than a week, Republican leaders announced that if they can't reach a quorum again this Friday at 10 a.m. Friday, both the House and Senate will wrap up the special session. There were 95 lawmakers present, failing to make a quorum.

Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will call a second special session immediately and it will begin with the same agenda or possibly an expanded one.

"I will continue to call special session after special session until we get this Texas first agenda passed," Abbott said last week.  

Texas Democrats say they'll return to Austin under two conditions

The Texas House Democratic Caucus announced Thursday lawmakers will rejoin the Legislature and help form a quorum if the session adjourns sine die on Friday, as promised by House Speaker Dustin Burrows, and if California introduces redistricting maps that would "neutralize the Trump-Abbott voter suppression effort."

"Texas House Democrats broke quorum and successfully mobilized the nation against Trump's assault on minority voting rights," said THDC Chair Gene Wu. 

Wu added that despite facing threats of arrest, legal action, financial penalties, bomb threats, and harassment, Democratic lawmakers remain committed to fighting what they describe as a "Jim Crow congressional district map."

"Now, as Democrats across the nation join our fight to cause these maps to fail their political purpose, we're prepared to bring this battle back to Texas under the right conditions and to take this fight to the courts," Wu said.

Texas House Democrats said legal counsel advised them to return to the state to build a legislative record for a potential court challenge to the GOP's proposed redistricting map.

Texas representatives say they will run for seats in other districts

The newly drawn and hotly contested congressional maps in Texas may prompt Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, to run in a neighboring district, instead of the one she currently represents.

This comes as Texas House Democrats have made national news by breaking quorum for a second week to prevent the chamber from passing the new maps that are designed to give the GOP five new majority seats.

In an interview for Eye On Politics on Wednesday, Crockett accused Republicans of intentionally drawing her home out of her district, District 30, under the newly proposed maps. Due to that, she said she is considering running in the newly drawn 33rd Congressional District, where her home will be if the new maps are approved by Texas Republicans.

"I'm debating about where I will run where they put me, which is where I live, in 33," said Crockett.

Crockett has served in the 30th Congressional seat since January 2023, and her district is mostly in Dallas County, but also has some constituents in Tarrant County. While the boundaries of her district would change, it's still considered a Democratic majority seat and will have a majority of Black Americans.