Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he will keep the Legislature in special session “as long as necessary” to pass a Republican-drawn congressional map that Democratic lawmakers have been blocking by remaining out of state. The House again met without a quorum on Tuesday, marking the second week of the impasse after more than 50 Democrats left Austin to deny the chamber the numbers needed to vote on the map. Abbott’s plan would allow the GOP to extend the fight well past the Dec. 8 filing deadline for the March primary and, he warned, potentially for the next two years. The governor and Attorney General Ken Paxton have also asked the Texas Supreme Court to declare 13 Democratic seats vacant; the court set an expedited briefing schedule that stretches into September. Meanwhile, House Speaker Dustin Burrows and the Texas Department of Public Safety have opened a toll-free hotline for Texans to report sightings of absent lawmakers, and state leaders continue to threaten arrest should the Democrats return. At stake is a map that analysts say could give Republicans up to five additional U.S. House seats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The Texas showdown is already prompting responses elsewhere: California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he may pursue a mid-decade redraw of his state’s districts to offset any gains Texas Republicans secure. The escalating battle underscores how redistricting has become a central front in the struggle for control of Congress.