Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke said Democrats need to be willing to “fight fire with fire” when it comes to Republicans looking to redraw congressional districts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“And this redistricting, which is just, you know, shorthand for members of Congress choosing their own voters,” O’Rourke said on “The\u00a0Joy Reid Show” podcast<\/u><\/a> on Monday.<\/p>\n “That\u2019s going to make this even worse unless we stop it,” O’Rourke continued. “And so my hope is – and I hear this from everyone, everywhere – that Democrats fight back with everything they have. Fight fire with fire. So, if that means the Texas state house Democrats need to leave the state to deny their Republican colleagues a quorum, so be it.”<\/p>\n TEXAS MAP FIGHT ESCALATES AS JEFFRIES VOWS \u2018ALL OPTIONS\u2019 TO STOP GOP PLAN<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Dozens of Democratic lawmakers in Texas reportedly\u00a0left the state<\/u><\/a> over the weekend to\u00a0try and stop the redistricting vote. The lawmakers participated in a Sunday press conference\u00a0with Illinois Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.<\/p>\n A minimum of\u00a0100 members of the 150-member Texas House must be present to do business.<\/p>\n Last week<\/a>, Texas House\u00a0Republicans introduced a redistricting proposal that could net five new Republican congressional seats. The draft map is likely to change before approval by both state legislative chambers.<\/p>\n The proposal looks to redraw district lines to include more Republican-leaning areas in\u00a0Democratic<\/u><\/a> areas like Dallas and Houston.<\/p>\n