In July, a group of Democratic legislators left Austin, with some traveling to Washington, D.C., in an effort to break the quorum of the Texas Legislature to prevent action on Gov. Greg Abbott’s special session agenda. 

Thirteen members of the Texas House and two members of the Texas Senate have already announced their intention to retire or to seek higher office, creating 15 open seats in the Texas legislature with redistricting underway ahead of the 2022 elections. 

The latest campaign finance reports reveal that the Texas Democrats who broke quorum collected $491,000 between their July 12 departure and the end of the first special session. Over 25 percent of that money came from out-of-state donors.