AUSTIN, Texas — In an escalation in the battle over redistricting in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott filed a lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to remove State Rep. Gene Wu, the Democratic Caucus Chair, from office.

It comes after at least 50 Texas House Democrats left the state on Sunday in an effort to break quorum and prevent a vote on new congressional maps . Those Republican-drawn maps could give the GOP five more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and have sparked debates over gerrymandering and drawing districts along racial lines .

In an emergency petition to the Texas Supreme Court, Abbott argued Wu’s departure from the state constitutes an abandonment of his office, justifying his removal.

"I made clear in a formal statement on Sunday, Aug. 3, that if the Texas House Democra

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