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

The chairman of the state Democratic Party said the lawmakers “are coming back to fight these racist maps in the legislature and then in the courts.”

The Texas House gaveled in at noon with Democratic members present, marking an official end to the quorum break.

Texas Democratic lawmakers left two weeks ago to block a GOP plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts. They said they were returning now that California Democrats are adopting a counterproposal.

Former Texas Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke is the preferred candidate among Democratic voters in the state’s 2026 Senate race, according to recent polling — despite having lost three major races within a span of four years.

The detainment of State Rep. Nicole Collier has drawn outrage and imagery of Black women’s suffrage in America. Texas State

Texas Republicans now face a clear path to redraw the state’s congressional maps after state House Democrats ended their 15-day walkout and returned to the Capitol on Monday.

For weeks, Texas Democrats have been doing everything in their power to draw national attention to a radical Republican plan to try to hang on to the House of Representatives in next year's midterms by gerrymandering the state's already heavily skewed maps even further.