🕷️ Crawler Inspector

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Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 84 (from laksa020)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa084.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html","crawl_time":1771692097,"first_indexed_time":1755381871,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,nytimes!www,\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html s443","src_root_hash":"4566504020376537684","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Protesters Gather to Oppose Trump’s Push on Redistricting - The New York Times","meta_descriptions":["Thousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"Advertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT\nThousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026.\nDemonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts.\nCredit...\nDesiree Rios for The New York Times\nAug. 16, 2025\nThousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans.\nThe president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November.\nOn Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns.\n“We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan.\nThe biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map.\nCrowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part.\n“Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd.\nEarlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than $1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout.\nImage\nBeto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday.\nCredit...\nDesiree Rios for The New York Times\nThose donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing.\n“The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement.\nBut many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures.\nDozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for\ndrawing national attention\nto redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act.\n“We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who\nled the Democratic walkout\n, told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.”\nImage\nAt a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures.\nCredit...\nTalia Sprague\/Associated Press\nAfter about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.”\nIn New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies.\nState Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.”\nLike Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms.\nStill, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward.\nEvents were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee.\nImage\nA protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders.\nCredit...\nEric Lee for The New York Times\n“Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said.\nThe proposed map in Texas\nwould redraw\nfive districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The\nproposal in California\n, created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans.\nAsked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday.\n“It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the\ndifficult legislative and political path\nthe California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.”\nRepublican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers\nwere expected to return\nto the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott.\nCalifornia lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week.\nRobert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin.\nJ. David Goodman\nis the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.\nA version of this article appears in print on\nAug. 17, 2025\n, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting\n.\nOrder Reprints\n|\nToday’s Paper\n|\nSubscribe\nRelated Content\nMore in Politics\nEric Lee for The New York Times\nAl Drago for The New York Times\nImage by Kent Nishimura for The New York Times\nU.S. Dept. of HHS via X\nEditors’ Picks\nWarner Bros.\nPaul Hurd\/Alamy\nTrending in The Times\nTierney L. Cross\/The New York Times\nIllustration by Sam Whitney\/The New York Times\nAngelina Katsanis for The New York Times\nIllustration by The New York Times\nDavid Barnum Photography\nEve Washington\nTheodore Tae\/The New York Times\nPatrick T. Fallon\/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images\nLee Cohen\nAdvertisement\nSKIP ADVERTISEMENT","attrs_markdown":"[Skip to content](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#site-index)\n\nSearch & Section Navigation\n\nSection Navigation\n\nSearch\n\n[Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics)\n\n[Log in](https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2025%252F08%252F16%252Fus%252Fpolitics%252Ftexas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html&asset=masthead)\n\nSaturday, February 21, 2026\n\n[Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper)\n\nReshaping Congress\n\n- [State-by-State Guide](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2026\/02\/18\/us\/politics\/midterms-house-maps-redistricting.html)\n- [Path Cleared for Virginia Democrats](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/13\/us\/politics\/virginia-redistricting-democrats-house-seats.html)\n- [N.Y. Case](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/12\/nyregion\/redistricting-supreme-court-ny.html)\n- [Justices Allow California Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/04\/us\/politics\/supreme-court-california-congressional-map.html)\n- [Maryland’s Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/02\/us\/politics\/maryland-house-redistricting-democrats-seat.html)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-top)\n\nSupported by\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-sponsor)\n# Protesters Gather to Oppose Trump’s Push on Redistricting\nThousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026.\n\n- Share full article\n\n![Under a blue sky, demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol, some holding signs. One sign reads: “Stand Up Against This Corrupt Administration” and another “Step the Trump Takeover.”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nDemonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times\n\n[![J. David Goodman](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/18\/nyregion\/author-j-david-goodman\/author-j-david-goodman-thumbLarge.png)](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/j-david-goodman)\n\nBy [J. David Goodman](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/j-david-goodman)\n\nAug. 16, 2025\n\nThousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans.\n\nThe president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November.\n\nOn Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns.\n\n“We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan.\n\nThe biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map.\n\nCrowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part.\n\n“Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd.\n\nEarlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than \\$1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout.\n\n## Editors’ Picks\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/arts\/19cul-pitt-recap\/19cul-pitt-recap-thumbLarge.jpg)‘The Pitt’ Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Emotional Rescue](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/19\/arts\/television\/the-pitt-recap-season-2-episode-7.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/well\/19WELL-NL-SURVIVING-WINTER-image\/19WELL-NL-SURVIVING-WINTER-image-thumbLarge-v3.jpg)How to Get Through the Rest of Winter](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/well\/get-through-winter-tips.html)\n\n[![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/13\/multimedia\/16FD-DUMPLING-WEEK-promo-3-gfjq\/13FD-DUMPLING-WEEK-promo-3-gfjq-thumbLarge.jpg)These Dumpling Recipes Are So Good, They Deserve a Party](https:\/\/cooking.nytimes.com\/article\/dumpling-recipes-lunar-new-year-2026)\n\nAdvertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-pp_edpick)\n\nImage\n\n![Beto O’Rourke touches the shoulder of a demonstrator after a protest in Austin.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nBeto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times\n\nThose donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing.\n\n“The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement.\n\nBut many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures.\n\nDozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for [drawing national attention](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-california-redistricting-republicans-democrats.html) to redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act.\n\n“We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who [led the Democratic walkout](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/07\/us\/politics\/texas-redistricting-gene-wu.html), told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.”\n\nImage\n\n![Three women stand at the back of a crowd at a rally wearing navy T-shirts that say: Stop the Texas Steal.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nAt a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures.Credit...Talia Sprague\/Associated Press\n\nAfter about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.”\n\nIn New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies.\n\nState Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.”\n\nLike Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms.\n\nStill, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward.\n\nEvents were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee.\n\nImage\n\n![People march in a protest in Washington, D.C., carrying anti-Trump flags, signs and banners.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times\n\n“Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said.\n\nThe proposed map in Texas [would redraw](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/04\/us\/texas-redistricting.html) five districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The [proposal in California](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/15\/us\/california-redistricting-maps-released.html), created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans.\n\nAsked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday.\n\n“It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the [difficult legislative and political path](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/08\/15\/us\/politics\/california-texas-gerrymandering-redistricting.html) the California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.”\n\nRepublican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers [were expected to return](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/14\/us\/texas-democrats-return.html) to the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott.\n\nCalifornia lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week.\n\nRobert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin.\n\n[J. David Goodman](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/j-david-goodman) is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Aug. 17, 2025, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting. [Order Reprints](https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/) \\| [Today’s Paper](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper) \\| [Subscribe](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY)\n\nSee more on: [U.S. Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics), [U.S. House of Representatives](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/topic\/organization\/us-house-of-representatives), [Democratic Party](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/topic\/organization\/democratic-party), [Republican Party](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/topic\/organization\/republican-party), [Donald Trump](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/spotlight\/donald-trump), [New York](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/nyregion)\n\n- Share full article\n\n## Related Content\n### [More in Politics](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/politics)\n- [Texas Congressman’s Aide Told Co-Worker of Affair Before Killing Herself](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/18\/us\/politics\/texas-gonzales-suicide-affair.html)\n  \n  ![Representative Tony Gonzales in Washington this month.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/18\/multimedia\/18pol-gonzales-texas-1-qpzk\/18pol-gonzales-texas-1-qpzk-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Eric Lee for The New York Times\n- [MAHA Moms Turn Against Trump: ‘Women Feel Like They Were Lied To’](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/19\/us\/politics\/maha-moms-glyphosate-roundup-robert-kennedy.html)\n  \n  ![Supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. onstage with him at a news conference last year.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/multimedia\/19DC-TRUMP-MAHA-01-ghqw\/19DC-TRUMP-MAHA-01-ghqw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Al Drago for The New York Times\n- [Why Is Trump Dumping East Wing Rubble in a Public Park?](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/19\/us\/politics\/trump-east-wing-rubble-in-a-public-park.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/arts\/golf-cover\/golf-cover-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Image by Kent Nishimura for The New York Times\n- [Bench Presses, Pull Ups … Kid Rock? The White House Had a Very Manly Week.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/us\/politics\/trump-hegseth-rfk-manliness.html)\n  \n  ![A frame grab of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. 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Cross\/The New York Times\n- [Should I Refrigerate Apples? An A-to-Z Guide to Storing Fruits and Vegetables](https:\/\/cooking.nytimes.com\/article\/fruits-vegetables-storage)\n  \n  ![Learning to keep your produce the right way can help save money and reduce food waste.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/25\/multimedia\/13FD-PRODUCE-STORAGE-topart-group-vertical-ghkt\/13FD-PRODUCE-STORAGE-topart-group-vertical-ghkt-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n- [Opinion: Whitewashing ‘Wuthering Heights’](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/opinion\/wuthering-heights-jacob-elordi-bridgerton.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/23\/opinion\/20kumar-image\/20kumar-image-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Illustration by Sam Whitney\/The New York Times\n- [Weekend Snowstorm Suddenly Looks More Serious for the Northeast](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/weather\/new-york-snow-forecast.html)\n  \n  ![Recent snow in Brooklyn. Is more on the way? Maybe.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/20\/multimedia\/20wea-northeaststorm-photo-mljf\/20wea-northeaststorm-photo-mljf-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Angelina Katsanis for The New York Times\n- [Opinion: ‘We Can See Obvious Patterns’: Two Columnists on Former Prince Andrew and the Fallout From the Epstein Files](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/opinion\/epstein-files-victims-prince-andrew.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/20\/opinion\/20roundtable-image\/20roundtable-image-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Illustration by The New York Times\n- [\\$450,000 Homes in Vermont, Georgia and Colorado](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/18\/realestate\/jamaica-vermont-savannah-georgia-colorado-springs-home-sales.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/18\/realestate\/18re-WYG-Jamaica\/18re-WYG-Jamaica-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  David Barnum Photography\n- [What Do A.I. Chatbots Discuss Among Themselves? We Sent One to Find Out.](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/18\/upshot\/moltbook-artificial-intelligence-ai.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/17\/upshot\/00up-moltbook-promo\/00up-moltbook-promo-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Eve Washington\n- [7 Moves to Improve Your Balance and Overall Strength](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/18\/well\/move\/strength-training-exercises-balance-unilateral.html)\n  \n  ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/18\/well\/UNILATERAL-EXERCISES-ART-01\/UNILATERAL-EXERCISES-48223-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Theodore Tae\/The New York Times\n- [11 Million Visitors Short: Inside America’s Continuing Tourism Slump](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/20\/travel\/us-tourism-declines-eu-canada.html)\n  \n  ![Passengers and crew walk to a Transportation Security Administration security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport in November. ](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/20\/multimedia\/20Trav-European-Visitors-wqjk\/20Trav-European-Visitors-wqjk-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale&width=350)\n  \n  Patrick T. 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Navigation\n- [© 2026 The New York Times Company](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014792127-Copyright-Notice)\n\n- [NYTCo](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/)\n- [Contact Us](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015385887-Contact-The-New-York-Times)\n- [Accessibility](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115015727108-Accessibility)\n- [Work with us](https:\/\/www.nytco.com\/careers\/)\n- [Advertise](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/)\n- [T Brand Studio](https:\/\/advertising.nytimes.com\/custom-content\/)\n- [Privacy Policy](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/10940941449492-The-New-York-Times-Company-Privacy-Policy)\n- [Cookie Policy](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/privacy\/cookie-policy)\n- [Terms of Service](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893428-Terms-of-Service)\n- [Terms of Sale](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/115014893968-Terms-of-Sale)\n- [Site Map](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/sitemap\/)\n- [Canada](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/ca\/)\n- [International](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/international\/)\n- [Help](https:\/\/help.nytimes.com\/hc\/en-us)\n- [Subscriptions](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=37WXW)","attrs_readable_markdown":"Advertisement\n\n[SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-top)\n\nThousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026.\n\n![Under a blue sky, demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol, some holding signs. One sign reads: “Stand Up Against This Corrupt Administration” and another “Step the Trump Takeover.”](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nDemonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times\n\nAug. 16, 2025\n\nThousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans.\n\nThe president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November.\n\nOn Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns.\n\n“We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan.\n\nThe biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map.\n\nCrowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part.\n\n“Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd.\n\nEarlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than \\$1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout.\n\nImage\n\n![Beto O’Rourke touches the shoulder of a demonstrator after a protest in Austin.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nBeto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times\n\nThose donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing.\n\n“The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement.\n\nBut many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures.\n\nDozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for [drawing national attention](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/08\/16\/us\/politics\/texas-california-redistricting-republicans-democrats.html) to redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act.\n\n“We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who [led the Democratic walkout](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/07\/us\/politics\/texas-redistricting-gene-wu.html), told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.”\n\nImage\n\n![Three women stand at the back of a crowd at a rally wearing navy T-shirts that say: Stop the Texas Steal.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nAt a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures.Credit...Talia Sprague\/Associated Press\n\nAfter about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.”\n\nIn New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies.\n\nState Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.”\n\nLike Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms.\n\nStill, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward.\n\nEvents were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee.\n\nImage\n\n![People march in a protest in Washington, D.C., carrying anti-Trump flags, signs and banners.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/08\/16\/multimedia\/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl\/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n\nA protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times\n\n“Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said.\n\nThe proposed map in Texas [would redraw](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/04\/us\/texas-redistricting.html) five districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The [proposal in California](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/15\/us\/california-redistricting-maps-released.html), created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans.\n\nAsked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday.\n\n“It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the [difficult legislative and political path](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/08\/15\/us\/politics\/california-texas-gerrymandering-redistricting.html) the California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.”\n\nRepublican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers [were expected to return](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/14\/us\/texas-democrats-return.html) to the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott.\n\nCalifornia lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week.\n\nRobert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin.\n\n[J. David Goodman](https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/j-david-goodman) is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma.\n\nA version of this article appears in print on Aug. 17, 2025, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting. 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Kennedy Jr. onstage with him at a news conference last year.](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/multimedia\/19DC-TRUMP-MAHA-01-ghqw\/19DC-TRUMP-MAHA-01-ghqw-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Al Drago for The New York Times\n- ![](https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2026\/02\/19\/arts\/golf-cover\/golf-cover-square640.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale)\n  \n  Image by Kent Nishimura for The New York Times\n- ![A frame grab of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. 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Boilerpipe Text	Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Thousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026. Demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times Aug. 16, 2025 Thousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans. The president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November. On Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns. “We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan. The biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map. Crowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part. “Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd. Earlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than $1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout. Image Beto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday. Credit... Desiree Rios for The New York Times Those donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing. “The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement. But many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures. Dozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for drawing national attention to redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act. “We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who led the Democratic walkout , told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.” Image At a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures. Credit... Talia Sprague/Associated Press After about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.” In New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies. State Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.” Like Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms. Still, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward. Events were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee. Image A protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders. Credit... Eric Lee for The New York Times “Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said. The proposed map in Texas would redraw five districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The proposal in California , created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans. Asked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday. “It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the difficult legislative and political path the California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.” Republican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers were expected to return to the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott. California lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week. Robert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin. J. David Goodman is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 17, 2025 , Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting . Order Reprints \| Today’s Paper \| Subscribe Related Content More in Politics Eric Lee for The New York Times Al Drago for The New York Times Image by Kent Nishimura for The New York Times U.S. Dept. of HHS via X Editors’ Picks Warner Bros. Paul Hurd/Alamy Trending in The Times Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times Illustration by Sam Whitney/The New York Times Angelina Katsanis for The New York Times Illustration by The New York Times David Barnum Photography Eve Washington Theodore Tae/The New York Times Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Lee Cohen Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Markdown	[Skip to content](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#site-content)[Skip to site index](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#site-index) Search & Section Navigation Section Navigation Search [Politics](https://www.nytimes.com/section/politics) [Log in](https://myaccount.nytimes.com/auth/login?response_type=cookie&client_id=vi&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2Fsubscription%2Fonboarding-offer%3FcampaignId%3D7JFJX%26EXIT_URI%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.nytimes.com%252F2025%252F08%252F16%252Fus%252Fpolitics%252Ftexas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html&asset=masthead) Saturday, February 21, 2026 [Today’s Paper](https://www.nytimes.com/section/todayspaper) Reshaping Congress - [State-by-State Guide](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/02/18/us/politics/midterms-house-maps-redistricting.html) - [Path Cleared for Virginia Democrats](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/us/politics/virginia-redistricting-democrats-house-seats.html) - [N.Y. Case](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/nyregion/redistricting-supreme-court-ny.html) - [Justices Allow California Map](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/us/politics/supreme-court-california-congressional-map.html) - [Maryland’s Map](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/us/politics/maryland-house-redistricting-democrats-seat.html) Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-top) Supported by [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-sponsor) # Protesters Gather to Oppose Trump’s Push on Redistricting Thousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026. - Share full article ![Under a blue sky, demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol, some holding signs. One sign reads: “Stand Up Against This Corrupt Administration” and another “Step the Trump Takeover.”](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times [![J. David Goodman](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2018/07/18/nyregion/author-j-david-goodman/author-j-david-goodman-thumbLarge.png)](https://www.nytimes.com/by/j-david-goodman) By [J. David Goodman](https://www.nytimes.com/by/j-david-goodman) Aug. 16, 2025 Thousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans. The president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November. On Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns. “We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan. The biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map. Crowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part. “Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd. Earlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than \$1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout. ## Editors’ Picks [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/19/arts/19cul-pitt-recap/19cul-pitt-recap-thumbLarge.jpg)‘The Pitt’ Season 2, Episode 7 Recap: Emotional Rescue](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/arts/television/the-pitt-recap-season-2-episode-7.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/19/well/19WELL-NL-SURVIVING-WINTER-image/19WELL-NL-SURVIVING-WINTER-image-thumbLarge-v3.jpg)How to Get Through the Rest of Winter](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/well/get-through-winter-tips.html) [![](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/02/13/multimedia/16FD-DUMPLING-WEEK-promo-3-gfjq/13FD-DUMPLING-WEEK-promo-3-gfjq-thumbLarge.jpg)These Dumpling Recipes Are So Good, They Deserve a Party](https://cooking.nytimes.com/article/dumpling-recipes-lunar-new-year-2026) Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-pp_edpick) Image ![Beto O’Rourke touches the shoulder of a demonstrator after a protest in Austin.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Beto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times Those donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing. “The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement. But many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures. Dozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for [drawing national attention](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-california-redistricting-republicans-democrats.html) to redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act. “We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who [led the Democratic walkout](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/us/politics/texas-redistricting-gene-wu.html), told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.” Image ![Three women stand at the back of a crowd at a rally wearing navy T-shirts that say: Stop the Texas Steal.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) At a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures.Credit...Talia Sprague/Associated Press After about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.” In New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies. State Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.” Like Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms. Still, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward. Events were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee. Image ![People march in a protest in Washington, D.C., carrying anti-Trump flags, signs and banners.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times “Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said. The proposed map in Texas [would redraw](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/us/texas-redistricting.html) five districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The [proposal in California](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/us/california-redistricting-maps-released.html), created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans. Asked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday. “It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the [difficult legislative and political path](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/15/us/politics/california-texas-gerrymandering-redistricting.html) the California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.” Republican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers [were expected to return](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/us/texas-democrats-return.html) to the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott. California lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week. Robert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin. [J. David Goodman](https://www.nytimes.com/by/j-david-goodman) is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 17, 2025, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting. 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Readable Markdown	Advertisement [SKIP ADVERTISEMENT](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-democrats-redistricting-protests.html#after-top) Thousands assembled around the country to demonstrate against a Republican effort to redraw congressional maps in their favor for 2026. ![Under a blue sky, demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol, some holding signs. One sign reads: “Stand Up Against This Corrupt Administration” and another “Step the Trump Takeover.”](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-01-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Demonstrators gather outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin to protest Republican-led efforts to redraw the state’s congressional districts.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times Aug. 16, 2025 Thousands gathered in cities across the country on Saturday to protest President Trump's plan to keep control of Congress after the 2026 midterms by pushing Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps in favor of Republicans. The president’s push for the rare and aggressively partisan redistricting, while centered on Texas so far, has set off a furious response among many Democratic state leaders and party activists. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Friday that he was moving forward with a plan to redraw his state’s lines, and allow voters to approve it in November. On Saturday, progressive activists, labor groups and pro-democracy organizations put together more than 300 political events and rallies, looking to galvanize voters who may be angry at the Trump administration but may view the process of redrawing district lines as opaque and unrelated to their concerns. “We need to have as many protests in this country as possible,” said Cheryl Merzel, 72, a retired public health professor who attended a rally outside a Trump hotel in Manhattan. The biggest event appeared to be at the Texas Capitol in Austin, where a two-week-long walkout by dozens of Democratic state representatives has temporarily prevented Republican lawmakers from passing a redrawn map. Crowds packed together in the August heat to hear from activists and lawmakers, including a pair of Democratic U.S. House members from Austin, Lloyd Doggett and Greg Casar. The two members would find themselves competing for a single Austin congressional seat under the proposed Republican map. Organizers said several thousand people took part. “Do not allow this moment to pass without a fight,” Beto O’Rourke, the former El Paso congressman, told the crowd. Earlier in the day Mr. O’Rourke announced that his organization, Powered by People, had given more than \$1 million over the last few weeks to several Texas Democratic groups, including the state’s House Democratic Caucus, which led the walkout. Image ![Beto O’Rourke touches the shoulder of a demonstrator after a protest in Austin.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-02-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) Beto O’Rourke speaks to demonstrators after a protest in Austin on Saturday.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times Those donations have been the subject of a lawsuit by Texas’ Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, who accused Mr. O’Rourke and his organization of illegal activity around fund-raising and spending in support of the absent Texas Democrats. This month, a Tarrant County court issued a temporary restraining order against Mr. O’Rourke that prevents his organization from “raising funds for nonpolitical purposes, including to fund out-of-state travel.” Mr. O’Rourke has denied any wrongdoing. “The cabal of Democrats who have colluded together to scam Texans and derail our Legislature will face the full force of the law,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement. But many of those Democrats appeared ebullient and undeterred on Saturday. At a rally in Chicago, several Democratic lawmakers, including those from Texas, spoke to a crowd of hundreds in Millennium Park — some chanting “Texas! Texas!” — amid searing temperatures. Dozens of Texas Democrats sought refuge in Illinois after they walked out on a special session of the State Legislature, halting its activity. They were planning to return soon, claiming victory for [drawing national attention](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/16/us/politics/texas-california-redistricting-republicans-democrats.html) to redistricting and helping to push Democratic states like California to act. “We could not have done this without you,” State Representative Gene Wu of Houston, who [led the Democratic walkout](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/us/politics/texas-redistricting-gene-wu.html), told the crowd. “We could not have done this without millions of Americans across this country who have simply had enough.” Image ![Three women stand at the back of a crowd at a rally wearing navy T-shirts that say: Stop the Texas Steal.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-03-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) At a rally at Millennium Park in Chicago, some in the crowd chanted “Texas! Texas!” amid searing temperatures.Credit...Talia Sprague/Associated Press After about 30 minutes, the Texas Democrats led the crowd on a brief march through the downtown streets carrying a banner that read “Rise up, fight back” and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.” In New York, hundreds of protesters gathered at the southwest corner of Central Park near the Trump International Hotel, with local politicians leading chants of “Stand up, fight back” and attacking the president’s policies. State Representative Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat, criticized the harsh tactics of federal immigration agents in New York and around the country. He said that if protests were not effective, “we need to start shutting down federal buildings — let’s stop being polite.” Like Mr. Newsom, Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has supported responding to the Texas redistricting with a partisan redrawing of her state’s lines to more heavily favor Democrats in U.S. House races. But because of legislative and state constitutional hurdles, any redrawn map would not be in place until after the 2026 midterms. Still, Saturday’s protests reflected “the anger and fear that people are feeling, and their desire to fight back,” said State Representative Micah Lasher, a Manhattan Democrat, in an interview afterward. Events were registered in dozens of cities, including Oakland, Minneapolis, Las Vegas and Washington, with tens of thousands of people signing up to attend, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, co-director of the democracy campaign at Public Citizen, a nonpartisan consumer advocacy group. Dozens of liberal and progressive groups organized the protests, including Indivisible, Common Cause and Planned Parenthood, with support from the Democratic National Committee. Image ![People march in a protest in Washington, D.C., carrying anti-Trump flags, signs and banners.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/08/16/multimedia/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl/16nat-texas-dems-04-wjzl-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale) A protest in Washington on Saturday was one of many political events and rallies organized across dozens of cities by Democratic leaders.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York Times “Our goal is to build movement and awareness to challenge Trump and his billionaire allies who are working to undermine our democratic process,” Mr. Minkoff-Zern said. The proposed map in Texas [would redraw](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/us/texas-redistricting.html) five districts currently held by Democrats so that they would favor Republicans in next year’s elections. The [proposal in California](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/us/california-redistricting-maps-released.html), created in reaction to Texas’ map, would create five Democratic districts out of those currently held by Republicans. Asked about California’s plans, Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas attacked the California plan and Mr. Newsom at a news conference in Austin on Friday. “It’s a joke,” Mr. Abbott said, referring to the [difficult legislative and political path](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/08/15/us/politics/california-texas-gerrymandering-redistricting.html) the California proposal would have to pass through before taking effect. “He’s posturing for the presidency and doing nothing more than that. He’s all talk and no action.” Republican lawmakers in Texas were preparing to move forward on their redrawn map on Monday, when the absent Democrats lawmakers [were expected to return](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/us/texas-democrats-return.html) to the Texas House and take part in a second special session called by Mr. Abbott. California lawmakers were also set to take up their proposed map for the first time next week. Robert Chiarito contributed reporting from Chicago, Luke Caramanico from New York and David Montgomery from Austin. [J. David Goodman](https://www.nytimes.com/by/j-david-goodman) is the Houston bureau chief for The Times, reporting on Texas and Oklahoma. A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 17, 2025, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: Democrats Turn Up the Heat On G.O.P. Over Redistricting. 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