An Illinois judge on Wednesday declined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) request to hold Texas Democrats who fled there in contempt. 

Paxton reached across state lines to seek a ruling that would effectively force the blue state to comply with efforts to arrest the lawmakers and return them to Texas to end their quorum breaking that has blocked Republicans’ redistricting push.

“As the Petitioner has failed to present a legal basis for the court to obtain subject matter jurisdiction over this cause of action, this court is without jurisdiction to grant petitioner’s emergency motion to rule on pleadings,” Judge Scott Larson wrote in a brief order posted on the case docket. 

“This court does not find that it has subject matter jurisdiction, this court does not consider the issues of personal jurisdiction, venue or the merits of the underlying petition for rule to show cause or the request to issue a rule to show cause upon the respondents,” he continued.

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California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will draw new electoral maps after Donald Trump “missed” a deadline on Tuesday night in an ongoing redistricting battle between Democratic and Republican states.

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!!”, Newsom’s office wrote on social media. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!)”.

“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” reads the post.

Newsom says California will draw new electoral maps after Trump ‘missed’ deadline

Governor calls Trump ‘Taco’ online, short for ‘Trump always chickens out’, prompted by president’s flip-flop deadlines
Guardian staff
Tue 12 Aug 2025 21.26 EDT

California governor Gavin Newsom says the state will draw new electoral maps after Donald Trump “missed” a deadline on Tuesday night in an ongoing redistricting battle between Democratic and Republican states.

“DONALD ‘TACO’ TRUMP, AS MANY CALL HIM, ‘MISSED’ THE DEADLINE!!!”, Newsom’s office wrote on social media. “CALIFORNIA WILL NOW DRAW NEW, MORE ‘BEAUTIFUL MAPS,’ THEY WILL BE HISTORIC AS THEY WILL END THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY (DEMS TAKE BACK THE HOUSE!)”.

“BIG PRESS CONFERENCE THIS WEEK WITH POWERFUL DEMS AND GAVIN NEWSOM — YOUR FAVORITE GOVERNOR — THAT WILL BE DEVASTATING FOR ‘MAGA.’ THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! — GN,” reads the post.

The post follows a series of snarky, all-caps tweets meant to mimic Trump’s social media writing style.

Newsom was mocking Trump’s moniker, “Taco”, short for “Trump always chickens out”, prompted by his flip-flopping deadlines.

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The closely watched New York mayoral and governor’s races appear to be forming into shapes that will bring little comfort to centrist Democrats, with elections happening in November this year in New York City and the gubernatorial vote a year later.

A new Siena Institute poll released on Tuesday shows New York City’s Democratic socialist mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, leading former New York governor Andrew Cuomo by 19 percentage points – while the Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik is chipping away at incumbent Democrat Kathy Hochul’s lead in a hypothetical contest for the New York governor’s mansion in 2026.

Hochul’s lead over Stefanik, who was nominated to be US ambassador to the United Nations before withdrawing to help Republicans maintain a majority in Congress, has now dropped from 23 points in June to 14 points.

Stefanik has not officially decided on whether to seek the governor’s office, but she has been noticeably attacking Hochul’s record. The poll found that 49% of voters in the state said it would be bad for New York if Stefanik were elected governor.

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Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) campaigned with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, slamming both President Trump and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“New York has always stood up to bullies and defended what’s right, even when it’s difficult, which is why we were so shocked to learn that Andrew Cuomo called Donald Trump for advice after the Democratic primary,” Nadler said at a press conference alongside Mamdani. “This betrayal shows exactly what we’re up against: politicians willing to legitimize our city’s greatest threat for their personal benefit. The truth is, Cuomo and Trump are very similar.”

“Both use their power to serve themselves and their wealthy donors, not the people. If it weren’t clear before, it should be now. Donald Trump is no friend to our city, and neither is Andrew Cuomo. This is why the choice for New York City’s next mayor is so critical,” he added.

Mamdani recently heavily criticized reported moves by Trump regarding the New York City mayoral race.

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