Washington, D.C. — Yesterday, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) and Affiliates held a “Stop the Texas Takeover” strategy call with its national grassroots network to sound the alarm about the threat of Republican gerrymandering in Texas and empower audience members to take action to protect our democracy. 

The event was headlined by Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the NDRC, U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Greg Casar (TX-35), and Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu (District 137).

So far, the call has garnered about 10,000 views across all platforms, and those numbers continue to grow.

The full recording of the call can be watched here. Excerpts are available below:

ATTORNEY GENERAL ERIC HOLDER: “Now let me be clear, an even more egregious gerrymander in Texas does not just affect Texans. This affects all Americans, and all of us have an obligation to do something and do it right now. I’ve seen too many leaders and institutions roll over to this regime without putting forward a fight. And I’m going to use a term now that’s maybe not what an attorney general is supposed to say, but that pisses me off. Did John Lewis give up after he was beaten in Selma? Did women give up their fight to get the right to vote? No! And that’s why we have the rights that we do right now, because those who came before us fought the good fight. And now it’s our turn as citizens to step up and to meet the moment. At NDRC, we’re not shrinking violets. When the fight gets tough, we lean in – and we win.”

SPEAKER EMERITA NANCY PELOSI:“This is shameless. Shameless, the mid-decade redistricting that they’re doing at the orders of Donald Trump. Shameless, what they did with the Big Ugly Bill that takes away one and a half million Texans’ health care. Three million Texans will lose food. This is at the direction of Donald Trump, and now he wants, shamelessly, for Texas to endorse that by giving him five more members of Congress. We cannot let that happen.”

LEADER HAKEEM JEFFRIES: “They’re running out of town, because they can’t explain to the American people why they are hiding information that they promised to release to them. Now, we’re facing this mid-decade gerrymandering threat, because Republicans realize that the only reason they’re in the majority right now, notwithstanding all of the advantages that they had at the top of the ticket in November of last year, is because of the gerrymander that took place in North Carolina. This is why the stakes are so important. Republicans have the narrowest majority that any congressional majority has had since the great depression.”

CONGRESSMAN GREG CASAR (TX-25): “Trump does not want there to be a free and fair midterm election. He wants to rig those elections right now, starting in Texas, and so we can’t just wait for those elections. We’ve got to have the fight right now.”

TEXAS HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHAIR GENE WU (District 137): “I promise you that this is not an issue just for Democrats. This is an issue that will affect all Americans, and especially the working-class Americans. Because, at the end of the day, what this is really about are the billionaires and the oligarchs and the people who have bought our country, holding on to power.”

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