Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to call "special session after special session after special session" in response to Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block redistricting legislation, saying they'll have to stay out of Texas for years to prevent it becoming law.

"We are in the process as we speak right now of searching for, preparing to arrest Democrats who may be in Texas, may be elsewhere," Abbott, a Republican, told NBC News in an interview at the governor's mansion Thursday evening.