Washington DC – As Governor Greg Abbott called a second special session immediately after the first, some Texas Democrats appear uncertain whether remaining in Washington DC is the best method to halt Republican legislation.

A contingent of over 50 Texas Democrats has been in DC since early July, when they dramatically left the state to deny Republicans enough votes to pass a host of controversial bills, including a restrictive voting law.

They chose to travel to DC in order to raise awareness around voting rights and push for federal protections that would override restrictions put in place by Republican-controlled states.

Though the Texas Dems have succeeded in sparking national conversations around voting rights, there seems to have been little actual movement on passing federal voting laws since their arrival in DC. It appears overcoming the filibuster, which requires 60 Senate votes, is proving too difficult a task.

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Meanwhile in Austin, Abbott was furious with the Dems' decision to leave and vowed to call special session after special session until he got his legislation through. He even threatened to arrest any Dems who had left the state.

The Republican governor followed through on that promise, calling a second special session after the first ended in early August.

Now it is unclear how Texas Dems plan to proceed. Though they remain united in their opposition to the Republican-sponsored voting law, it's not yet certain whether the entire group will remain in DC.

According to Politico, at least 26 lawmakers have confirmed their plans to stay, but there seem to be a number who are on the fence.

With only 26 remaining, the Dems would not have enough people out of the legislature to deny Republicans a vote on the election law and other priority bills.

Enter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The congresswoman from New York has promised to individually call each Texas lawmaker unsure whether or not they will stay in the nation's capital, the Houston Chronicle reported.

"She said, 'I'm not going to have my staff call. You give me their name and number and I’m going to call myself,'" state Rep. Ron Reynolds reported following a Zoom call with the New Yorker. "I was imagining a member getting a call from AOC – 'you want me to stay out? OK.' I just kind of envision what that call would go like."

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She has also offered to call Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer regarding the proposed federal voting legislation, which may receive another vote as early as this week.

AOC has been a big supporter of the Texas Dems, giving them the longest meeting time of any of the DC politicians they have spoken to thus far.

She also has a personal connection to Texas, having worked for more than a decade as an organizer for the National Hispanic Institute and spending a significant amount of time traveling between San Antonio and the Texas-Mexico border as the organization's education coordinator before she ran for Congress.

Perhaps a call from the high-profile progressive can convince some uncertain Texans to hold their ground in DC.