Texas’ week-long redistricting standoff is poised to end after the more than 50 House Democrats who fled the state on 4 Aug. indicated they will return “in the coming days,” restoring the quorum Republicans need to vote on a new congressional map. Their decision follows the formal close of the first special session and Governor Greg Abbott’s immediate call for a second, which began late Friday in Austin. Abbott and the Republican-controlled Legislature have refused to alter the proposal, which non-partisan analysts say could shift as many as five U.S. House seats to the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms. House Speaker Dustin Burrows has instructed members to be ready for committee work as soon as Monday, and the governor has warned he will keep calling special sessions until a map is enacted. The fight has triggered a reciprocal move in California, where Governor Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers on Friday unveiled an aggressive map that could hand their party up to five additional seats. The National Republican Congressional Committee branded the plan an “illegal power grab” and signalled a court challenge, underscoring how the Texas clash has escalated into a broader, state-by-state redistricting war. Activists opposed to partisan gerrymandering staged more than 200 demonstrations across the United States on Saturday. In Chicago’s Millennium Park, several of the Texas legislators addressed a crowd of hundreds, urging continued pressure even as they prepare to head back to Austin and shift the battle from the streets to the courts.