Special session reportedly planned to convene November 7
Kansas Republicans just made it official: they’re moving forward with Donald Trump’s plan to force a mid-decade redistricting in Kansas. Over the weekend, a petition was circulated at a GOP retreat in Wichita, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins confirmed its existence on Monday.
This is the first public confirmation that Kansas Republicans are preparing to gerrymander congressional maps again — just three years after they did it in 2022. The effort would split Johnson County in an attempt to silence voters and weaken Representative Sharice Davids’ (D-KS-03) representation of Kansas’ Third District – a blatant reversal of previous promises to keep Johnson County whole.
“Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around, but Republican legislators are ignoring Kansas voters and forcing through Donald Trump’s unfair, gerrymandered maps,” said Davids. “They’re cheating because they know their policies aren’t popular and raising costs for folks. This isn’t how Kansans expect their leaders to act. It’s a power grab that silences voters and further divides our country.”
Davids, who recently called out state legislators for hiding details from Kansans, has faced this fight before. Former Senate Majority Leader Susan Wagle said at the time, “I guarantee you we can draw four Republican congressional maps.” But after the 2022 gerrymander, which was designed to make Kansas’ Third District as Republican-friendly as possible, Davids won the election by 12 percent and was re-elected last year by double digits.
Read more in the Sunflower State Journal: Redistricting petition presented to House members, by Brad Cooper
“A petition for lawmakers to sign calling for a special session to redraw congressional boundaries was presented to Republican House members at their retreat Saturday in Wichita. House Speaker Dan Hawkins on Monday confirmed that House members were given a petition to sign at the retreat where redistricting was discussed. It was not immediately known how many lawmakers signed the petition.
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Many sources have said the date is set for Nov. 7 with a planned return for Nov. 21 to override an anticipated veto from the governor. President Donald Trump ignited a national redistricting battle when he called on Republicans to redraw congressional districts in Texas to gain five additional seats in the U.S. House ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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Any efforts to draw new district lines in Kansas would likely lead to a new map that carves up suburban Johnson County into multiple districts – potentially into as many as three – to give it more of a Republican flavor. Johnson County has been a stronghold for U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the lone Democrat in the Kansas congressional delegation.
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Multiple sources said that Republican House members have been warned that they could be under tremendous political pressure if they opt not to sign the petition. Sources also said that lawmakers who don’t agree to sign the petition might expect to get a call from the president urging them to get on board, a move that many believe could be effective at drumming up the support needed for a special session.”