Former Texas Democratic congressman Beto O’Rourke said the state’s move to redistrict paves for a potential third term of President Donald Trump, saying everyone has a “vested interest” in the redistricting bid.

Over 50 state Democrats left Texas on Sunday to delay the vote for a new congressional map favoring the Republican Party, ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Attorney General Ken Paxton said Tuesday he is seeking a court ruling declaring these absent seats vacant if the lawmakers do not return by Friday.

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O’Rourke, a 2020 presidential candidate and 2022 gubernatorial candidate, has a group covering the costs of these fleeing lawmakers and said they are preventing a future without “free and fair elections.” He also said failing to stop the redistricting effort will make “the consolidation of authoritarian power in America” almost “unstoppable.”

“And it also means that a Republican majority Congress with these five stolen seats, if we allow them to succeed, will roll out the red carpet for a Trump third term. So this is literally for all the marbles, and it comes down to what is happening in Texas right now,” O’Rourke said on CNN.

“So wherever you live around the country, you have a vested interest in these 56 Texas Democrats succeeding right now,” O’Rourke said.

TEXAS HOUSE DEMOCRATS EVACUATED FROM ILLINOIS HOTEL DUE TO BOMB THREAT

The former Democratic lawmaker made his claim just a day after Trump said on CNBC’s SquawkBox he would “probably not” seek another term in 2028, but added, “I’d like to.” Trump also said on Tuesday Vice President JD Vance is “most likely” his successor. 

Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defended Texas’s effort to redistrict Tuesday, saying it could win “five” more seats for the Republican Party. He encouraged the Democratic lawmakers who left the state to “do the right thing” and return, saying they shouldn’t “run and hide because you’ve lost touch with the voters.”