Texas Democrats’ latest stunt unraveled spectacularly. State Rep. Nicole Collier, a seven-term Fort Worth legislator, ditched a high-profile conference call with DNC elites such s Gavin Newsom after being warned her absence from the State House floor constituted a felony, as the Daily Mail reports. This chaotic episode underscores the left’s desperate tactics to obstruct Texas’s redistricting efforts.
In early August 2025, 57 Democrat lawmakers fled Texas for Illinois and New York, aiming to block a GOP-led redistricting vote. They returned after 18 days, only to see the Texas House approve new congressional maps on Wednesday, by an 88-52 party-line vote. The maps, which favor Republicans with five additional winnable seats, now await approval from the GOP-controlled Senate and Gov. Greg Abbott.
Collier, undeterred by the failed exodus, staged a 30-hour protest inside the State House, sleeping at her desk and on the chamber floor. She refused to sign the Texas Department of Public Safety monitoring paperwork, doubling down on her defiance. Her antics, though, smack more of performance art than principled stand.
During a conference call with DNC chair Ken Martin, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Collier was caught hiding in the Capitol bathroom. “Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony,” she stammered, abruptly exiting after learning her absence violated Texas law.
Collier claimed the redistricting law violates the Voting Rights Act, a tired refrain from Democrats grasping at legal straws. Her bathroom-bound bravado crumbled when faced with real consequences, exposing the fragility of her protest. Running to the restroom to dodge accountability isn’t exactly Profiles in Courage material.
Booker’s attempt to lionize Collier was laughable. “Rep. Collier in the bathroom has more dignity than Donald Trump in the Oval Office,” he gushed. Hyperbolic flattery can’t mask the absurdity of a lawmaker fleeing to a restroom to avoid legislative duty.
Newsom’s tepid “There you go” during the call offered little more than a verbal shrug. Meanwhile, Booker ranted, “What they’re trying to do right there is silence a black woman.” His race-baiting rhetoric conveniently ignores that Texas’s rules apply equally to all lawmakers, not just those fitting his narrative.
The Texas Department of Public Safety wasn’t playing games. On Tuesday evening, they evacuated the Capitol around 6:30 p.m. after a social media threat urged violence against those preventing lawmakers from leaving. The Capitol stayed closed to the public for the day, a stark reminder of the chaos Democrats’ antics invite.
Collier’s response? She filed a lawsuit against Texas, alleging “illegal restraint” for not being allowed to leave the State House. This is from a lawmaker who voluntarily camped out for over 30 hours to make a point. The irony is thicker than a Longhorn steak.
Democrats, including Collier, vowed to challenge the new maps in court, claiming they gerrymandered Texas unfairly. Yet their legal threats ring hollow when their party pushes similar tactics elsewhere. California’s Democrat-controlled Legislature, for instance, plans to approve a new House map creating five Democrat-leaning districts, pending voter approval in November 2025.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris called Collier to offer support, saying, “You are among those that history will reveal were among the heroes of this moment.” Heroes don’t hide in bathrooms to dodge felonies, and history won’t be kind to such grandstanding. Harris’s pep talk feels more like pandering than principle.
Collier’s refusal to comply with DPS monitoring -- “I refuse to comply with this unreasonable, un-American, and unnecessary request”—epitomizes the left’s selective outrage. She decries “un-American” rules while ignoring her own party’s power plays in states like California. Consistency isn’t her strong suit.
President Donald Trump urged the mid-decade map revision to bolster Republican chances in the 2026 midterms, a pragmatic move Democrats decry only when it doesn’t suit them. Their complaints about prioritizing redistricting over flood relief legislation from the previous month are rich, given their focus on political theater over governance. Pot, meet kettle.
Texas instituted a rule requiring fleeing Democrats to be escorted by police if they left the State House again, a sensible measure to curb their runaway antics. Democrats’ earlier flight to Illinois and New York already disrupted legislative progress for 18 days. Enough is enough.
The Texas redistricting saga reveals a broader truth: Democrats’ performative protests crumble under scrutiny. Collier’s bathroom escapade and subsequent lawsuit aren’t about defending democracy -- they’re about dodging responsibility while crying foul. Texas’s GOP is playing hardball, and the left’s tantrums won’t change the scoreboard.
