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Texas Democrats knew that if they fled the state to block a Republican plan to redraw the congressional map, they would need blue-state allies. So when Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker - a potential 2028 presidential candidate - came to neighboring Oklahoma in late June for a dinner, the state party chair worked to set up a meeting.
Pritzker had been traveling the country urging his party to fight President Donald Trump harder, denouncing "incrementalism" and "do-nothing" Democrats. Texas Democrats wanted to know if he would help them ratchet up their resistance, if necessary, to prevent their Republican colleagues from overhauling the map in the GOP's favor.
They were welcome in Illinois, Pritzker told them.
Soon his staff was talking daily with Texas Democrats. And early this week, he stood next to state lawmakers as they explained their escape to Chicago, assembled in front of a "JB" backdrop advertising Pritzker's reelection campaign.
"This is a righteous act of courage," Pritzker said. "When you show people that you have the will to fight, well, they can muster the will to fight, too."
Pritzker's invitation to Texas lawmakers has given him a more prominent role in a tense partisan fight ambitious Democrats around the country are eagerly joining. Blue state leaders and potential 2028 presidential hopefuls across the country are channeling a base that expects them to jump into the confrontation and fight fire with fire.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has said he supports asking voters to approve a temporary redraw of his state's House districts meant to counteract Republican gains in Texas. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) - who is facing a primary challenge and needs to fire up Democratic voters - welcomed a smaller group of Texas lawmakers to her state this week and on Monday said "the gloves are off" and the party was "at war" as her Democratic-controlled state looks for ways to change its maps, too. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg went live on Instagram to denounce what he called an "obvious plan to disempower voters."
Democrats face big hurdles in carving out more blue seats, especially after years of pushing for a more bipartisan mapmaking process in key states. But they have vowed to get creative.
In Illinois, they are limited in their ability to squeeze more seats out of a map already drawn in their favor. They hold 14 out of 17 House seats. But Pritzker has still taken a highly visible role in the redistricting wars this week.
Republicans in Illinois have called Pritzker's criticism of Texas Republicans hypocritical because of the Democratic slant in Illinois' map. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, an independent analysis of partisan bias in states' maps, gives Illinois an "F."
Democrats in the state "should be focused on strengthening democracy here in our state with fair maps instead of chasing national headlines by intervening in other states," said John Curran, the Illinois Senate Republican leader, in a statement.
Asked about that criticism at his Sunday news conference with Texas Democrats, Pritzker said Illinois' map "follows the Constitution." Republicans are attempting to "steal" seats by adding five new safe red districts, Pritzker said, "rewriting the rules because their cult leader, Donald Trump, tells them to."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday suggested those who help the absent Democratic lawmakers could face legal consequences. He said in a statement that he had ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate any "potential legal violations connected to their refusal to appear" and that the inquiry should "extend to anyone who aided or abetted such potential crimes."
Asked this weekend if he would cover Texas lawmakers' $500-per-day fines for their absence, Pritzker told reporters the legislators "have a right to raise money" for their efforts but said his support has been logistical. Asked if he would add financial support, Pritzker made no commitments but left the possibility open.
"I can only tell you that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that they're welcome here, that they have the ability to stay as long as they need to and want to," the billionaire businessman said.
Pritzker is running for a third term as governor but has also suggested interest in a possible 2028 presidential run with moves to build his national profile. He's spoken at Democratic Party dinners in several other states in recent months, including in the early primary state of New Hampshire, a common stop for presidential hopefuls.
As Democrats debate how to best push back in Trump's second term, Pritzker has urged the party to get more combative, reflecting the anger of a frustrated liberal base. Assailing Republicans in New Hampshire this spring, he said the Democratic Party must "abandon the culture of incrementalism that has led us to swallow their cruelty" and "knock the rust off poll-tested language" that has obscured "our better instincts."
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, a Pritzker ally who is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois, cast the state as a "blueprint of what bold leadership really looks like."
"That is what Americans are looking for right now," she said in a Monday interview. "They want to see a real fighter, someone who's not going to just go along to get along."
Democratic lawmakers in Texas say they are also channeling voters' desire for action, even as it's unclear how long they can hold off Republicans' special session by denying them the quorum needed to proceed. (If they run out the clock on the current special session, Abbott can call another one).
"People want somebody to push back and say, look you guys have gone too far," said state Rep. Ann Johnson, one of the Texas Democrats in Illinois. "People are desperate for the act that we are doing."
The plans for their flight from Texas were closely held until this weekend. Democratic leadership told lawmakers to gather on Sunday, Johnson said, and they got on a bus and then on a plane. But Johnson said she did not know her final destination until just before leaving.
Kendall Scudder, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, said in an interview that he connected with Pritzker because he saw the governor would be speaking at a party dinner in Oklahoma on June 28 and requested a meeting. Scudder spoke with Pritzker at the event about lawmakers' possible need to flee the state and said he found the governor to be receptive.
A couple weeks ago, Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu and other lawmakers flew to Chicago to meet with Pritzker. Then, last week, with about 48 hours notice, Texas Democrats confirmed to Pritzker's team they were going forward. The governor's team is not paying for their stay but helped with logistics, officials and other people familiar with the planning said, working to coordinate hotels and meeting spaces. Some spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private talks.
Pritzker has left open the possibility of Democrats in Illinois trying their hand at redistricting, too.
"We have to make sure that everything is on the table and use every tool in the toolbox to protect the rights and freedoms of our people," Stratton, the lieutenant governor, said Monday.
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