Overview

• Texas House Democrats who fled to block the first special session have begun returning on staggered timelines, making a quorum likely by Monday.
• In the second special session, Republicans opened public hearings on a draft map to add up to five GOP-leaning U.S. House districts and issued civil arrest warrants and fines to compel absent lawmakers back.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a November 4 special election to let the Democratic legislature enact rival maps submitted by the DCCC to counter potential Republican gains in Texas.
• A POLITICO-Citrin Center-Possibility Lab survey finds 64 percent of Californians support the independent redistricting commission, challenging Newsom’s bid that needs a supermajority and voter approval.
• Both parties are preparing Voting Rights Act and constitutional lawsuits plus parallel campaign strategies that could shape control of the U.S. House before the 2026 midterms.