(Photo source: The Kendall Scudder Campaign)

On Monday, Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder spoke with WCPT’s Joan Esposito to discuss the ongoing effort of Democratic Texas state legislators to block passage of an extreme Republican redistricting plan.

By leaving the state, the Texas lawmakers, many of whom have come to Illinois, have denied quorum to the Republican-controlled chamber and brought the legislature’s 30-day special session to a halt. The Republicans want to implement a congressional map to give themselves five additional U.S. House seats for the 2026 midterms.

“For a decade,” Scudder told Esposito, “Democrats have been campaigning saying that we are the great defenders of democracy, and today is the day for us to act like it. You don’t get to do that for 10 years, and then, when a moment like this happens, cower and walk away.”

The legislators, who are paid a base salary of just $7,200 annually and face $500-a-day fines for leaving the state during session, are seeking financial support through a redistricting defense fund. (Visit https://secure.actblue.com/donate/tdp_redistricting.)

“They all have other jobs, they have families, and they are away from all of those things,” Scudder said. “They still have mortgages. Their mortgages don’t get to break quorum.”

“But they know that this attempt to steal members of Congress from the electorate so that the president can avoid accountability for trying to privatize Social Security, gouging Medicare and Medicaid, passing the largest tax increase on working families in our lifetime [is] unconscionable.”

Below is the full transcript of the interview. (Please note: The transcript has been edited for clarity.)

Joan Esposito: Kendall Scudder is the head of the Democrats in Texas. We have spoken to him many times, but rarely have I been as excited as I am today.

Kendall, this is awesome!

Kendall Scudder: Well, let me tell you, Joan. We were talking. We were like, OK, we could go anywhere in the country. Where are we going to go? And I said, Joan Esposito is in Chicago. We’ve got to get there.

Joan Esposito: (Laughs.) There you go. I didn’t even realize in our conversation that I was secretly, and unbeknownst to me, planting these seeds.

Kendall, though, this is what people want to see. So many times, it seems like even when Republicans are using every procedural maneuver in the book to get their way, Democrats just continue to play by the rules and get trounced, over and over again. I am so pleased, and I can only imagine that you had a lot to do with this. So where are the Democratic Texas state legislators as of today?

Kendall Scudder: Well, let me tell you this, Joan: For a decade, Democrats have been campaigning saying that we are the great defenders of democracy, and today is the day for us to act like it. You don’t get to do that for 10 years, and then, when a moment like this happens, cower and walk away. Our Texas Democrats here are doing this at great personal sacrifice.

For those who aren’t familiar, Texas legislators don’t get paid — they get paid $7,200 a year. So they all have other jobs, they have families, and they are away from all of those things. They still have mortgages. Their mortgages don’t get to break quorum. In addition to that, they’re also being fined $500 a day, as individuals, by the state of Texas for going, but they know that this attempt to steal members of Congress from the electorate so that the president can avoid accountability for trying to privatize Social Security, gouging Medicare and Medicaid, passing the largest tax increase on working families in our lifetime — it’s unconscionable. We’re not going to let it happen. So we are here to do whatever it takes to defend this republic and make sure that the people of this country have an opportunity to hold this administration accountable in the 2026 midterm.

Joan Esposito: Correct me if I’m wrong, but [Texas] Gov. [Greg] Abbott wanted to do this. He’s called a special session, and the special session is in place for another couple of weeks. Does it expire Aug. 18, somewhere around there?

Kendall Scudder: Yes. Special sessions in Texas are, constitutionally, 30 days. And he can call them back-to-back if he’d like to, but 30 days is how long this session will last. We are already halfway through it. So, in Texas, once you hit that 30-day threshold, everything that’s been working on dies; you have to restart it in a new special session.

Joan Esposito: Do you think this will prevent the remap of Texas that Donald Trump so desperately wants?

Kendall Scudder: We’re going to try, and we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen. They’re humans, these Texas Democrats, and they need support. They need support from people nationally who appreciate what they’re doing. They go to texasdemocrats.org to help contribute to the redistricting defense fund, but it is something that we’re going to do everything that we can to try to make this happen.

Just yesterday, whenever this all started coming out, they were already talking about trying to vacate these elected representatives from their seats. It’s a complete violation of the separation of powers. It is not constitutional in our state, but [Gov. Abbott] and [Texas Attorney General] Ken Paxton are going to work together to try to do whatever they can to ensure that they’re delivering for their sugar daddy, Donald Trump

Joan Esposito: And hasn’t the governor also threatened to arrest some of these state legislators?

Kendall Scudder: All of them, yes, ma’am. That’s certainly something that I’m sure they will do, if they haven’t already, is they’ll issue arrest warrants. That’s why they can’t be in Texas, and that’s why they have to go to a state where they can make sure that they have some form of safe harbor. And they’ll be away from their families for a very long period of time, assuming that they receive the support to be able to accomplish that.

Joan Esposito: Well, I have to believe that what they are doing now, it’s not only good for the democracy of this country, but I think it’s also probably a testament to how they feel about you, Kendall, because it takes a great leader to organize something like this. And I have no doubt you were a big part of this.

Kendall Scudder: Well, thank you, Joan. But what I will say is that for years in Texas Democrats have been getting kicked in our teeth, and we’re pretty tough, and we fight a little differently because we’re calloused — (laughs) — weathered by life. And so, these are really strong leaders that we have. We have a great bench in this state. You’ll see them all across TV, over the coming weeks, as different media outlets interview them. We have a lot of talent to offer in Texas, and if Abbott and Paxton had their way, they would completely rob Texans of the ability to have these fine representatives doing the work of their communities.

Joan Esposito: Well, I think it’s about time that Democrats expanded their playbook. I mean, it’s one thing to oppose legislation and try to write your own legislation, but Republicans, as we’ve seen, especially from Mike Johnson, they are willing to use any procedural rules available to them to get what they want, or to prevent what they don’t want to happen from happening. And this is one of the clearest times when Democrats have really, in the words of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, fought fire with fire. And I sure hope it’s not the last.

Kendall Scudder: Well, a really great Texas hero that we all celebrate is General Sam Houston, the father of Texas. He was president of the country of Texas, twice governor of Texas, and his famous quote is, “Do right and risk consequences.” And that’s what we’re here to do today. We’re going to do the right thing and make sure that Republicans don’t get the opportunity to create a United States Congress that’s whiter than pre-Reconstruction, and we’ll risk the consequences of what that may entail.

Joan Esposito: Tell us again how we can help support you and these people.

Kendall Scudder: Folks who want to help support the effort, it is desperately needed. I’m not just trying to be some political hack begging. It’s just the reality. They can go to texasdemocrats.org and make a contribution to our redistricting defense fund. We need it to be able to fight back, not only here but against Greg Abbott’s $90 million war chest.

Joan Esposito: Yeah, that’s extraordinary. Should this measure fail, [California Gov.] Gavin Newsom and Kathy Hochul have already announced that they are ready to redraw the maps in their states to create more democratic seats to negate the extra Republican seats that might be created in Texas. I mean, these are such bizarre times, Kendall.

Kendall Scudder: Well, I’d ask, what are they waiting for, with all due respect? This is the first shot across the bow. We have political refugees right now, across the country, trying to hold this democracy together. Don’t wait for this to be successful. Just do it. Do it and make Republicans so terrified of redistricting that they come to the table federally, for federal nonpartisan redistricting committees. It’s the only way we will ever get them done is to bring these Republicans to heel by redistricting these blue states into oblivion. So they should get going on that right now. Don’t wait.

Joan Esposito: Kendall, thank you so much for what you’re doing, and thank you for joining us.

Kendall Scudder: Thanks for having me, Joan. We’ll talk to you soon.

Joan Esposito: I hope so.