Middleton votes to arrest Democrat lawmakers who 'continue to not show up for work'

A suburban Houston Republican State House representative was among those who voted overwhelmingly Tuesday, Aug. 10, to have minority Democrat lawmakers missing from the state arrested and brought back.

State Rep. Mayes Middleton (R-Wallisville) joined the rest of the GOP majority in its vote to have the absconded Democratic lawmakers who fled to Washington arrested.

"Democrats continue to not show up for work, today we voted to use arrest warrants for those violating the call of the House and their oath of office," Middleton said in a Facebook post the same day.

State House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) signed arrest warrants for the 52 Democrat lawmakers, the Texas Tribune reported. The fleeing lawmakers could be apprehended but would not be charged with a crime. Instead, GOP lawmakers are intent on restoring quorum.

Middleton, president of the Middleton Oil Company which operates more than 65 wells in South Texas and along the state's Gulf Coast, has represented Texas State House District 23 since he assumed office in January 2019. Middleton, who also runs ranching, cattle and farming operations in Chambers, Liberty, Jefferson, Kimble and Webb counties, soundly defeated Democrat challenger Jeff Antonelli for another term in office, taking more than 60% of the vote.

Texas State House District 23 includes parts of Chambers and Galveston counties.

Just prior to the House vote, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that Democrat lawmakers who had absconded could be arrested and/or detained.

The Democrat walkout began in late May to scuttle what they claimed was voter suppression legislation, Texas Senate Bill 7, which had been a Texas GOP's priority for the past regular session. SB 7, which the GOP claimed was aimed at reforms for all voting processes, included provisions such as limits to early voting hours, restrictions on local voting options and reducing vote-by-mail options.

SB 7 effectively died on May 31, when the minority Democrats broke quorum and walked out ahead of the bill's midnight deadline.

Walkouts to kill legislation are not unique to Texas. The strategy has become a regular occurrence among GOP state lawmakers in Oregon. In February, Oregon Republican lawmakers walked out for the third straight year on that occasion over Gov. Kate Brown's COVID restrictions. In 2019, Oregon Republican lawmakers walked out – and some went into hiding after Brown sent police after them – to successfully kill a bill to lower the state's carbon emissions.

Last weekend, Middleton took issue with 22 fleeing Democrat lawmakers who filed suit against Gov. Greg Abbott and other GOP legislators, claiming the civil arrest warrants violated their civil rights.

"Texas House Democrats sue to not go back to work – saying that doing the job they were elected to do violates their civil rights and causes them severe 'anxiety and distress,'" Middleton said in an Aug. 7 Facebook post.