The Texas House is set to vote on congressional redistricting Wednesday, setting up a political fight over a plan that could be critical for Republicans to hold on to a majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats to around-the-clock surveillance by state Department of Public Safety officers to leave the floor.

Sam Parker wears an outfit from "The Handmaid's Tale" as she protests the confinement of Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, outside the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier spent the night in the Texas Capitol building rather than agree to a police monitor amid a contentious partisan struggle over redistricting that is part of President Donald Trump's campaign to keep the national House of Representatives in Republican hands.

Several Texas state House Democrats plan to rip up the written agreements that allowed them to leave the chamber with a police escort on Monday and return to the House floor Tuesday night, the caucus announced.

The national party is seeking to frame the quorum break as galvanizing event for Democrats. Texas Republicans are likely to pass the redistricted maps.

Republicans are kicking off a gerrymandering arms race that Democrats can’t win, according to the analysis of most election watchers. The question now is whether Democrats can generate enough seats to give them a chance to retake the House in the future.

The former California governor says Trump's plan to rig Texas redistricting maps for Republicans doesn't justify his Democratic successor Gavin Newsom gerrymandering blue seats in retaliation.