Current and former Indiana House Democrats recalled the immediate benefit and long-term impact of fleeing the state to delay legislation over a decade ago as Texas Democrats remained in Chicago to delay a special session to redraw Congressional maps.

Texas Democrats on Monday prevented their state’s House of Representatives from moving forward with a redrawn congressional map sought by President Donald Trump to shore up Republicans’ 2026 midterm prospects as his political standing falters.

After dozens of Democrats left the state, the Republican-dominated House was unable to establish the quorum of lawmakers required to do business. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has made threats about removing members who are absent from their seats. Democrats counter that Abbott is using “smoke and mirrors” to assert legal authority he does not have.

The Texas House quickly issued civil arrest warrants for absent Democrats and Abbott ordered state troopers to help find and arrest them, but lawmakers physically outside Texas are beyond the jurisdiction of state authorities.

Indiana State Rep. Vernon Smith, who participated in his caucus’ walk out in 2011, said he was proud to see Texas Democrats use this tool to stop the redrawing of congressional maps.

“When you’re in a minority, you have to come up with ways for stopping bad legislation,” Smith, D-Gary, said. “I applaud the Texas delegation for doing it. I want to encourage them because the ruling party will use everything it can to cause pain for you.”

Current Lake County Councilman and former State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, recalled how unified the Democratic caucus was during the walkout.

“(Republicans) needed us there to make a quorum,” Brown said. “The amazing thing to me was the sticktoitiveness. How we stuck together and, hopefully, those in Texas will do likewise.”

Former State Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, who was a new legislator at the time, said initially she was scared to participate in the walkout, especially thinking about leaving her young children in Indiana, but decided to do so because it was her job to stand up against bad legislation.

“Ultimately, we’ve seen, we did do the right thing. We tried to stop legislation that was harmful, and that’s our job is to represent the best interests of our communities,” Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, said.

Indiana House Democrats fled to Urbana, Illinois, in February 2011 to block nearly a dozen Republican-backed bills, including a right-to-work bill and a bill creating the state’s school voucher program.

Smith recalled staying at a hotel and meeting as a caucus everyday to discuss the pieces of legislation they were concerned about.

In a statement at the time, the members stated they would remain in Illinois “for the immediate future” to continue reviewing Republican proposals on public education changes and the right-to-work bill that would prohibit union representation fees from being a condition of employment at most private-sector companies.

“By staying here, we will be giving the people of Indiana a chance to find out more about this radical agenda and speak out against it,” according to the statement. “We will remain here until we get assurance from the governor and (former) House Speaker Brian Bosma that these bills will not be called down in the House at any time this session.”

On the first day of the walkout, only three of 40 House Democrats were in the chamber when Bosma tried repeatedly to convene it, according to the Associated Press.

Former Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels told reporters at the time he would not use state troopers to compel Democratic legislators to return and that he trusted they would soon be back. Daniels had urged Republican legislators not to act on the right-to-work bill, saying he was worried that it could detail other legislative plans.

Indiana House Democrats returned to the statehouse after five weeks. Republicans ultimately dropped the right-to-work bill, but it was re-introduced in the 2012 legislative session and passed then. Daniels signed the bill into law Feb. 1, 2012.

During the 2011 session, Republican legislators also agreed to some changes on several other bills. For example, they agreed to a two-year cap on the number of students who could participate in a voucher program using taxpayer money to attend private schools. Another bill that would exempt certain government projects from the state’s prevailing construction wage law was changed so that fewer projects would be exempt.

At the time, Democrats insisted concessions they received on several issues, including school vouchers and labor legislation, made the boycott worthwhile.

The Indiana House Democrats were fined more than $3,000 for the five-week absence. Smith recalled that the fines increased with each day.

The immediate benefits to the Indiana walkout were the concessions made, Smith said, but it’s likely that the tactic led to the current Republican supermajority in the Indiana statehouse. With the current Republican party supermajority, the Democratic legislators “lost that tool” of walking out, Smith said.

But, Smith said the walkout was ultimately worth it.

“The issues were of great concern to us, and so you have to use whatever tools you have in order to be able to get the attention of the party that is in control,” Smith said.

The Democrats who left Indiana lost pay for the five weeks spent in Illinois, Brown said. But, the walkout forced the Republican majority to hear Democrats’ concerns with the pieces of legislation, Brown said.

“In the case of the Republicans in Indiana, it made them realize that yeah, you have the majority, but you still have to be sensible and make sure that you include the opposing party as well. It brought them back down to Earth as it relates to trying to pass legislation that is good for the state of Indiana,” Brown said.

Candelaria Reardon said she believes her participation in the walkout resulted in her losing her House seat. But, Candelaria Reardon said she has no regrets participating in the walkout.

“If you lose doing the right thing, are you really losing?,” Candelaria Reardon said. “I think I would do it again to stop bad bills. That’s the only tool we have.”

Candelaria Reardon said those who left lost pay, were fined, and couldn’t go to Indiana to see their families.

“It was not without a financial, an emotional and professional sacrifice. But, that’s really what you’re elected to do is to stand up and do the right thing and not the expedient thing or the easy thing,” Candelaria Reardon said.

Former State Senator Karen Tallian, who is currently the Indiana Democratic Party Chairwoman, said she didn’t participate in the walkout because the State Senate Democrats didn’t have enough members to break quorum.

When it comes to Texas, Tallian said the Democrats are breaking a quorum of a special session, and its end result will have implications for the whole country.

“I have a lot of sympathy for the Texas legislators who are breaking quorum on this issue because this issue is going to affect elections for a long time,” Tallian said. “It can also cause a cascading effect across the country.”

The plan to redraw Texas’ congressional maps “is so wrong,” Smith said.

“The Republicans at the national level understand that they’re in trouble for the midterms,” Smith said. “Now, they are trying to come up with schemes to protect themselves from the mindset of the people.”

Smith and Brown said it’s likely what is occurring in Texas could be the start of redistricting – and legislators fleeing their home states to delay votes – throughout the country.

It’s likely that the Texas redistricting will become a court case, Candelaria Reardon said, and she hopes that courts will rule that the actions taken by Texas Republicans were a “power grab.”

“I hope that the people of Texas remember this,” Candelaria Reardon said.

The Associated Press contributed. 

akukulka@post-trib.com

Originally Published: August 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM CDT