As Texas hurtles toward a flashpoint on a GOP effort to redraw congressional districts, California Democrats are answering with a plan of their own.

The mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas has been yet another pressure point for the GOP. It has split the party, with more states looking to follow in the Lone Star State’s footsteps. Many Republicans have backed this aggressive redistricting effort,

Former President Barack Obama on Thursday joined a virtual meeting with Texas House Democrats who left the state to deny Republicans the ability to pass newly drawn GOP-favorable congressional maps, cheering on their efforts and stressing their work comes at a critical time in the fight against partisan gerrymandering.