Texas Democrats are entering the third day after fleeing the state to block Republicans from passing a gerrymandered map that would offer the GOP five pickup opportunities in the House next year.

After a Texas House committee advanced new congressional lines during their special session last week, Democrats left the Lone Star State to deny Republicans a quorum, or the minimum number of lawmakers needed to conduct business.

In response, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has called for the Democrats’ arrest and has ordered the Texas Rangers to launch a probe into the lawmakers for possible bribery and other violations.

Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) declared he would “seek judicial orders declaring that runaway Democrats who fail to appear by the Speaker’s deadline have vacated their office.” But for now, the two parties are locked in a standoff.

Here’s a look at what comes next in the Texas redistricting battle:

How long can Democrats stay out?

Essentially, they can stay out of the state as long as they want.

Texas Democrats have broken quorum before. In 2003, they fled the state to try to stop Republicans from passing GOP-friendly maps. They also left the state in 2021 when Republicans worked on largely restrictive voting and election legislation.

Both times, Democrats eventually........

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