GEOFF BENNETT: For more on Texas Democrats' efforts to block mid-decade redistricting in the state, we're joined now by state Representative James Talarico, who's currently in Illinois.

Thanks for being with us.

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO (D-TX): Thanks for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: Texas Democrats broke quorum back in 2003 to block redistricting, and again in 2021 to stop new voting laws.

Both efforts ultimately failed.

They were not successful.

Why do you believe this effort could succeed were the others fell short?

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO: Well, I'd actually like to disagree with that.

I was part of the 2021 walkout, when we broke quorum to fight back against the Republicans' voter suppression bill.

They were trying to make it even harder to vote in Texas.

And Texas is one of the hardest places to vote in the entire country.

And by breaking quorum and shining a national spotlight on their bill, we pressured our Republican colleagues to take the worst parts of that bill out, so a ban on Souls to the Polls, which is early Sunday morning voting, when African American churches usually go to vote, a provision that would have allowed Republicans to overturn election results that they didn't like.

Those were taken out of the bill because of our quorum break.

And so while the bill did pass, and I voted against that bill, it was less harmful than it would have been without the quorum break.

So these kinds of acts of civil disobedience, of good trouble, they can have a tangible impact on legislation and therefore a tangible impact on people's lives.

I'm hopeful we can do something like that with this redistricting power grab that Trump is trying to execute in our state.

GEOFF BENNETT: Governor Abbott says he may try to remove you and your Democratic colleagues from office.

He may try to appoint your replacements.

And then, beyond that, he says that any fund-raising you do while you're out of state could violate bribery laws.

What's your response to that?

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO: Well, it's completely consistent, because, with these rigged maps, Governor Abbott is trying to rob Texans of their ability to elect representatives of their choice.

That is the most fundamental part of our representative democracy.

And now he's threatening to literally remove the people's representatives from office.

I mean, we're getting close to banana republic territory here.

He is taking a page out of Donald Trump's authoritarian playbook.

He is less charming, less charismatic, but he is still just as dangerous.

And it's why we have walked out.

It's why we're breaking quorum to stop this power grab from going through.

We want to protect Texans' ability to elect the candidates of their choice, whether they are Democrats, independents or Republicans.

GEOFF BENNETT: How is this walkout, this quorum denial effort coordinated?

And how long do you intend to stay out of state?

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO: Well, we're taking this one special session at a time.

We have all committed to staying out of the state capital for the next two weeks.

That's when the special session is scheduled to end.

Now, Governor Abbott can continue to call special sessions if he chooses.

But I am hopeful that the retaliation being promised by blue state governors may pressure Texas Republicans and Donald Trump to walk back from the brink.

What we don't want is a partisan war between red states and blue states.

We don't want gerrymandering in any state.

It's wrong when Republicans do it.

It's wrong when Democrats do it.

We should have a citizen-led independent redistricting process in every state.

In fact, I have actually filed a bill in the Texas legislature to bring that kind of process to Texas, because voters should be choosing their politicians.

Politicians shouldn't be choosing their voters.

That said, if one side is intent on cheating, as the Republicans are doing with this mid-decade redistricting, then all bets are off.

And the other side has to respond.

I'm hoping we can de-escalate and prevent these gerrymandered maps from spreading across the country.

GEOFF BENNETT: If de-escalation doesn't work, if this strategy of trying to prevent the passage of the GOP redistricting plan doesn't work, what other legal or political tools are available to Texas Democrats to continue challenging the map?

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO: Well, you're going to see court challenges.

You're going to see us bring those legal challenges in court.

I think you're also going to see Texans rising up, as they already have over the last 24 hours.

I mean, we have been overwhelmed, inundated with messages and calls and e-mails and grassroots donations from Texans all over the state.

And it's not just Democrats.

I actually got a message from a Republican who thanked me for fighting for free and fair elections.

And I think that's exactly what we're going to need if we're going to keep power out of the hands of people who want to consolidate it.

And we can finally get a check on our government.

And that's what Donald Trump's trying to prevent.

He's worried about losing the next election.

And so he's trying to insulate himself from the will of the public.

Nothing could be more un-American than that.

GEOFF BENNETT: Democratic Texas State Rep. James Talarico, thanks for being with us.

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO: Thank you for having me.

GEOFF BENNETT: And a note: We invited Texas Governor Greg Abbott to join us for an interview tonight.

His office declined our request.