3 Texas Democrats who fled Texas for DC to protest voting bill test positive for Covid-19

Several Texas House Democrats who loudly left the state for Washington, DC to avoid voting on an elections integrity bill have tested positive for Covid-19, following a much-maligned maskless photo on an airplane.

The Texas House Democratic Caucus leadership announced that one of their members found out they tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday evening, and two others received positive tests on Saturday. They will now be required to isolate for 10 days and then be retested. All of those infected have been vaccinated. Only one had mild symptoms, according to the caucus, while the other two had none. 

Texas House Democrats gained national attention when they ‘fled’ their state to protest a bill that would tighten voting regulations by strengthening voter ID requirements and banning drive-thru and overnight early voting. 

As is the case with newly introduced voting bills in other states, conservative activists have mainly supported Texas tightening its voting requirements, while liberal lawmakers and commentators have claimed that the new laws are meant to restrict voting rights. 

Following the announcement that three of 60 Democrats who left Texas had Covid-19, many pointed to selfies that the group had taken on a private charter plane where no one appears to be wearing masks. Although The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mandates that masks must be worn on all public transportation, regardless of travelers’ vaccination status, the rule does not apply to private planes.

Nevertheless, the photos drew a torrent of mockery from conservative pundits, who used them to note the apparent discrepancy between many Democrats’ continued fear of Covid-19 spreading and the Texan lawmakers’ lack of extra precaution while traveling.

“Laws – like masking on a plane – exist for a reason,” Washington Free Beacon reporter Joe Simonson tweeted. “Very disturbed by this reckless behavior, which happened in the process of subverting democracy. Everyone remember the day July 12.”

Making matters worse is the fact that many of the Texas Democrats who made the trip to DC and posted maskless photos had previously been critical of ‘superspreader’ events and Texas lifting its mask mandate.

One of the Democrat travelers, Representative Vikki Goodwin, even drafted a letter to Republican Governor Greg Abbott urging him to keep the state’s mask mandate in place, as it is a simple measure “proven to prevent the spread of the virus.”

The names of the three infected Democrats have not been released. 

While in DC, the group of Texas lawmakers conducted multiple high-profile meetings, capitalizing on their media attention for becoming the center of the debate of election integrity. They met with Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week, as well as Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York).

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