After judge tosses map, Texas Democrat calls quorum break “probably the most important thing" in his political career

DALLAS — A federal court in El Paso blocked the congressional map Texas lawmakers passed in September, saying there is substantial evidence it was “racially gerrymandered.”

That’s what State Rep. Ramon Romero, Jr., a Democrat from Fort Worth, has been saying since August.

“The people are losing," Romero said. "The courts need to see that reality and know that the time of politicians picking their voters should be over. And courts can make it right.”

He and other Democrats from the Texas House left the state for two weeks over the summer to try to keep the map from passing. Romero, chair of the Texas House’s Mexican American Legislative Caucus, said the quorum break was a sacrifice that came with a financial cost and led to threats of violence.

But he now says it was worth it because it