DNC Chair Vows to 'Fight Fire With Fire' on Redistricting

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin has vowed to “fight fire with fire” as Texas Republicans push to redraw the state’s congressional map.

The battle between Republicans and Democrats has escalated after Texas Democrats fled the state this week to break quorum, postponing talks of a new map meant to add 5 GOP seats. The move led to the Texas House passing a motion to issue civil arrest warrants for the Democrats who left the state.

During an interview with CNN’s “The Lead,” DNC Chair Martin argued, “Donald Trump, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, they said they wanted a showdown. And guess what? That’s exactly what they’re getting. A Showdown.”

“This is not the Democratic Party of your grandfather, right, which would bring a pencil to a knife fight,” he added. “We’re bringing a knife to a knife fight. We’re going to do everything we can right now to stand up against this unconstitutional power grab.”

The DNC Chair supported calls from Democrats in blue states who have argued that they should also redraw their respective states’ congressional maps, noting that it would neutralize the impact that Texas would have with its additional GOP seats.

“If they enact this map and their actually pass this into law, I would expect Democratic governors to put every single option they can on the table to respond in kind,” the DNC chair said.

“I’ve had a lot of conversations with governors throughout this country, and they’re ready to fight fire with fire as well,” he added. “Look, we can’t be the only party that plays by the rules.”

The DNC Chair was asked about the possibility of California and New York launching their own redistricting efforts, and he simply responded with "we're prepared to do whatever it takes."

The Texas House plans to reconvene despite the quorum break.