Democratic lawmakers who fled their state to stymie Republican plans to redraw political maps at the behest of President Donald Trump announced on Monday they were "returning to Texas on our terms," as the battle lines harden 15 months before the U.S. holds midterm elections.

In the decentralized electoral system of the U.S., states primarily determine federal congressional districts, though the courts can sometimes act as a check on abuses.

The outcome of the escalating national war over redistricting could determine control of the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a narrow 219-212 majority. After Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last month announced the plan for redistricting legislation, Democratic members of the Texas House left the state in early August to deny Abbot

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