This week, Republican leaders in Topeka fell short in their first attempt to call a special session to gerrymander Kansas’ congressional maps, but GOP politicians in Topeka have already vowed to try again when the Legislature reconvenes in January. Senate President Ty Masterson called redistricting “a top priority,” and House Speaker Dan Hawkins said Republicans still “wish to have a conversation about redistricting.”
Read more from the Topeka Capital-Journal, by Jason Alatidd:
- “While Kansas Republican lawmakers won’t call a special session, that doesn’t mean the redistricting battle is over. Republicans are promising to continue the effort to gerrymander the congressional maps for the express purpose of ousting the only Democrat from the state’s congressional delegation.”
- “‘Even though they failed to force this special session, we know that this fight is not over,’ said U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids … ‘They’re going to take another run at this in January, another attempt to carve up Johnson County to redraw maps that voters never asked for all to protect their own political power.’”
- “The openly partisan mid-decade redistricting was kicked off by President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.”
- “‘This whole thing got kicked off,’ Davids said, ‘because Donald Trump knows that the policies that they’re pushing are so extreme and so unpopular that they’re not going to be able to win unless they cheat.’”
- “The politics of gerrymandering in Kansas have become intertwined with the GOP gubernatorial primary in 2026 … [Philip Sarnecki’s] … campaign aired ads urging unnamed GOP holdouts to join the effort … Secretary of State Scott Schwab, … a Republican candidate for governor, reacted to the news of no special session with a post on X. ‘Disappointing,’ Schwab said.”
Bottom line: While Kansas Republicans team up with D.C. extremists to waste taxpayer dollars and silence voters all to keep their own power, Representative Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) is focused on lowering costs and creating jobs, while also ensuring every Kansan has a fair voice in our democracy. The fight against partisan gerrymandering continues.