Other Democratic lawmakers have joined a colleague in staying at the Texas Capitol rather than accept around-the-clock police escorts meant to prevent them from blocking a vote on a Republican plan for redrawing congressional districts.

More Texas House Democrats spent the night at the state Capitol in Austin in support of Rep. Nicole Collier, who wasn’t allowed to leave the building after she refused to consent to a police escort.

Texas Republicans are moving closer to approving new congressional maps amid a Democratic show of protest over the GOP House speaker’s order that members who fled the state weeks earlier be placed under law enforcement watch.

Republicans in the Texas House forced returning Democrats to around-the-clock surveillance by state Department of Public Safety officers to leave the floor.

Today’s installment of campaign-related news items from across the country.* After two weeks away, Democratic state House members in Texas are returning to Austin, ending a walkout that temporarily derailed a Republican mid-decade redistricting scheme.

Nicole Collier is asking a Travis County district judge to rule that she’s allowed to leave the Texas Capitol. The Fort Worth Democrat has been confined to Texas Capitol since Monday after refusing to sign a “permission slip” turning her over to Texas Department of Public Safety custody for monitoring.

Democratic state Rep. Nicole Collier refused to come to the Texas state Capitol for two weeks. Now she won't leave, and fellow Democrats are joining her protest. Collier was among dozens of Democrats who left the state for the Democratic havens of California,