Texas Democratic state Representative Nicole Collier, who earlier this month refused to leave the state Capitol in protest of the GOP’s redistricting plan, urged her party to meet Republicans on the “dirt road” in order to adjust their approach in an exclusive interview with Newsweek.
Why It Matters
Collier was among the Texas Democrats who left the state earlier in August to deny Republicans quorum on the House floor and block a new congressional map. Texas Republicans, with the support of President Donald Trump, redrew the map to create five new Republican seats to thwart potential losses in the 2026 midterm elections.
Collier drew national attention for her role in the efforts and for sleeping in the chamber as Democrats across the country lauded the lawmakers for fighting back against the GOP redistricting plan. However, the map ultimately passed the House and the Senate, and was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, on Friday. Meanwhile, the effort from Texas Republicans has been met with redistricting efforts from California, a Democratic state.
Collier on How Democrats Can Get Back on ‘Right Path’
Collier’s work on redistricting is not over, she told Newsweek. She is willing to campaign to support a ballot measure in California supported by the state’s governor Gavin Newsom that would allow the state legislature to enact a new map in response to the Texas redraw effort, and is meeting with other Democratic governors on redistricting matters.
“We’re going to continue to talk to other Democratic governors in this country to ask them to support this effort, to do the tit-for-tat that is happening,” she said. “Because what’s going on—the rules of engagement have changed. We’re no longer in an era where people will do the right thing. The people aren’t thinking of others.”
She said Democrats need to adjust their approach.
“If they’re on that dirt road, we need to go onto that dirt road, and then eventually start building that high road back up,” she said. “But right now, we’re down and dirty.”
She said Democrats, at times, “have been so traumatized by losing so much that they forget how to fight.”
“I think that if we have more Democrats who are willing to push back, who don’t care about what title they have or what position they have within their legislature, but care more about the people and preserving our democracy, then our Democratic Party would be on the right path and we could pick up some more wins,” Collier said.
The reception to Texas Democrats’ protest should signal to other Democrats that “they need to see more bold leadership” to convince Americans to go to the polls and vote for their candidates, she added.
“You need somebody who has taken such bold action that they will break up that day and go vote in between the time that they need to go cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed,” she said. “And so that’s the type of leadership that we need to see with our Democratic Party. People want to have somebody that’s inspiring them to be inconvenient, and we need more of that.”
Collier on Why Republicans Redrew Texas Congressional Map
Collier said she believes Texas Republicans redrew the congressional boundaries because of fears of losing the House in next year’s midterms.
Republicans already have a very narrow majority, and historically, the party in power does lose seats in the midterms. Democrats are increasingly hopeful about their chances in the House as Trump’s approval rating continues to falter in recent polls.
“In order for him to ensure a victory during the midterm in terms of retaining control over Congress is to rig the election. And that would mean picking up five additional seats, because they’re only three seats short, the Democrats are,” she said. “So if Trump can gain five additional seats, then he solidifies his reign in terms of getting people to do exactly what he wants because we’ve seen the Republican elected officials in Congress are robotically working on his behalf.”
The new map will have impact “far and wide” and “negatively impact Black and brown Texans,” Collier added. “This is the most segregated map in Texas since the Voting Rights Act was passed. And this is also in the same state that has been found to have violated the Voting Rights Act since it was enacted.”
Voters are the real victims of the map, she said. In her own Tarrant County community, the maps will dilute the power of Black and brown voters to pick the candidate of their choice, she said.
She said she returned to the Texas House because she was under the impression that Republicans were going to try to change the chamber’s rules, and there needed to be a set number of Democrats present to oppose that.
“But the speaker [Dustin Burrows] made an announcement that he was going to keep the call in the House, and that meant that he was going to try to maintain the quorum by requiring members to either stay or be released into the custody of the Department of Public Safety, which is our state law enforcement,” she said.
Collier found that to “exceed the authority of the House rules and our Constitution,” she refused to sign a permission slip to be released to the Department of Public Safety, she said.
As a result, she ended up sleeping in the House chamber. Her office retrieved her luggage from her car after she returned from Chicago, which included the book 1984 by George Orwell, she said.
“I had some books that I was reading, and a lot of these books are on the banned list that Texas has. George Orwell’s 1984 was one of them, which is bizarre because it seems like it’s coming to reality,” she said.
What Is Next for Texas Democrats?
Collier said Texas Democrats wanted to “set up the legal record, because we knew that this was going to be taken to the court.”
“And that has already been done. We were able to set the legal records. And now it is in litigation. There is a hearing set for October on these new maps,” she said. “We wanted to really get them before the filing opens for running for Congress in November, because we have seen that the courts are reluctant to intervene when the filing period has already opened.”
What People Are Saying
Governor Greg Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris previously told Newsweek: “The Texas House and Senate passed a map creating congressional districts that allow more Texans to vote for the candidate of their choice, and the Governor will soon sign this package into law. Voters, especially Hispanic Texans, are increasingly moving away from Democrats and deserve to vote for candidates who better align with their values. Claims that these maps, which establish four new majority-Hispanic districts, are discriminatory are absurd.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote to X after Texas passed its new maps: “It’s on, Texas.”
Former President Barack Obama wrote to X: “Over the long term, we shouldn’t have political gerrymandering in America, just a fair fight between Republicans and Democrats based on who’s got better ideas. But since Texas is taking direction from a partisan White House and gerrymandering in the middle of a decade to try and maintain the House despite their unpopular policies, I have tremendous respect for how Governor Newsom approached this. He’s put forward a smart, measured approach in California, designed to address a very particular problem at a very particular moment in time.”
President Donald Trump on Truth Social earlier in August: “Big WIN for the Great State of Texas!!! Everything Passed, on our way to FIVE more Congressional seats and saving your Rights, your Freedoms, and your Country, itself. Texas never lets us down. Florida, Indiana, and others are looking to do the same thing. More seats equals less Crime, a great Economy, and a STRONG SECOND AMENDMENT. It means Happiness and Peace. But Republicans, there is one thing even better—STOP MAIL-IN VOTING, a total fraud that has no bounds. Also, go to PAPER BALLOTS before it is too late—At one tenth the cost, faster, and more reliable. If we do these TWO things, we will pick up 100 more seats, and the CROOKED game of politics is over. God Bless America!!!”
What Happens Next?
The redistricting battle will continue to play out in the courts as they are already facing legal challenges.
Meanwhile, California voters will decide in November whether to give lawmakers the ability to replace the current maps, drawn by an independent commission, with boundaries more favorable to Democrats in response to the Texas efforts.
Other states like Indiana, Maryland and Missouri have also floated redistricting plans.
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