Texas Democrats fundraising to potentially leave the state to block GOP-backed redistricting

Sign up for The Brief The Texas Tribune s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the majority of essential Texas news WASHINGTON As Republicans in Texas move full steam ahead with a plan to redraw the state s congressional districts Democrats are privately mulling their options including an expensive and legally dicey quorum break If they go that highway it appears they will have the backing of big-dollar Democratic donors By fleeing the state to deprive the Legislature of enough members to function Democrats would each incur a fine of per day and face the threat of arrest Deep-pocketed donors within the party appear ready to cover these expenses according to three people involved in the discussions The donors willingness to foot the bill eliminates a major deterrent to walking out the personal financial cost and could embolden Democrats who might otherwise hesitate But first the donors and absconding members would need to figure out how to skirt a prospective roadblock Texas House rules prohibit lawmakers from dipping into their campaign coffers to pay the fines Republicans approved the daily punishment in two years after Democrats fled the state in an unsuccessful bid to stop Republicans from passing an overhaul of the state s vote laws Two people involved in the latest Democratic fundraising strategy sessions who were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations claim their legal teams have determined a way to disburse the funds to the members but declined to provide any additional details Rep Jasmine Crockett a Dallas Democrat who was part of the quorum break sees a path to circumvent the campaign finance rules With minimal limits on external income Texas lawmakers can purely accept the donations as another salary she stated As one of the greater part prolific fundraisers in the U S House Crockett mentioned she s willing to tap her donor base and her million war chest to cover the expenses On private donor calls members of Congress including Rep Greg Casar of Austin have been making the occurrence for high-stakes Democratic resistance including a quorum break according to two people familiar with the calls Their pitch frames the rare mid-decade redistricting saga as a key front in their battle against the White House To particular this fight is not absolutely about the congressional maps it could provide Democrats with actionable opposition their base is hungry for Donors appeared convinced and ready to open their checkbooks should Texas members decide to flee the state according to three people who were on the calls or briefed on them One person estimated lawmakers would need million per month to finance the protest a sum that those involved in the calls are certain they can secure Paying these fines may not even be necessary Crockett believes I think that the first step would be to make sure that there are attorneys on deck to veritably challenge the legality of these rules she noted in an interview with The Texas Tribune Andrew Cates an Austin-based campaign finance and ethics lawyer declared he would be very surprised if there were any real monetary penalties that were enforceable Spokespeople for Speaker Dustin Burrows R-Lubbock and Rep Charlie Geren the Fort Worth Republican who chairs the House Administration Committee did not respond to requests for comment The quorum break would buy precious time Crockett and other Democrats see as essential to educating the populace about the harms they believe new maps would inflict along with allowing a court challenge around the current maps to continue making its way through the system As part of the lawsuit against the maps Republican map drawers testified that they did not consider race when crafting the new district lines But to justify this mid-decade redistricting GOP operatives are using a letter from the U S Department of Justice which says four current districts are racially gerrymandered All of a sudden all these years later they re like never mind Crockett noted They really were considering race They weren t race neutral If lawmakers decide to bring the chambers to a standstill a general messaging war would almost certainly ensue drawing more attention and money to both sides cause Republicans would likely say Democrats are abdicating their duty as elected personnel and hindering flood relief bills lawmakers are expected to consider in response to the deadly July Fourth flooding in Central Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also called for fleeing Democrats to be arrested and offered his office s services in hunting down and compelling the attendance of anyone who abandons their office by urgent quorum Multiple Democrats see any attempt to stop these new maps no matter how unorthodox as effectively representing their constituents who do not want to see the maps redrawn Apart from quorum breaks money is pouring in from national Democratic groups who are looking to capitalize on the issue The Democratic National Committee is leveraging helpers to contact persuadable Republican and independent Texas voters to encourage them to submit community comments or call their state legislators with opposition to the new maps They have sent text messages aimed at mobilizing voters to attend field hearings around the state according to a DNC news release The National Democratic Redistricting Committee while not involved in the quorum break talks is planning to host an August charity event on Martha s Vineyard with President Barack Obama former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the group s chairman former Attorney General Eric Holder according to a person involved in the organizing of the event Money raised from the event will be used to sponsorship Texas Democrats who are opposing the redistricting efforts and the NDRC s general operations The NDRC s campaign arm the National Redistricting Action Fund has also committed an unspecified amount to digital ads in Texas aimed at turning the constituents against the GOP s new maps Additionally the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee House Democrats main political group has committed to spending six figures on a citizens opinion campaign with plans to spend more money to target Republican candidates in Texas who find themselves vulnerable under the new map A new fund backed by the House Majority PAC also pledged million on Monday to flipping seats in Texas Spokespeople for the DNC the NDRC and the DCCC each explained their organizations have yet to officially get involved in the quorum break fundraising efforts The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow Be there when all-star leaders innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin Nov The newest additions include comedian actor and writer John Mulaney Dallas mayor Eric Johnson U S Sen Amy Klobuchar D-Minnesota New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher and U S Rep Veronica Escobar D-El Paso Get your tickets in current times TribFest is presented by JPMorganChase This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https www texastribune org texas-democrats-quorum-break-fundraising-fines-redistricting The Texas Tribune is a member-supported nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and plan Learn more at texastribune org The post Texas Democrats fundraising to potentially leave the state to block GOP-backed redistricting appeared first on Salon com