Yesterday, KCMO Talk Radio circulated a potential gerrymandered map that would split Johnson County and lump parts of eastern Kansas into the same congressional district as counties along the Colorado border — a move widely seen as a blatant power grab.
“Instead of focusing on lowering costs or improving public safety, Republican politicians in Topeka are scheming behind closed doors to silence Kansas voters and protect their own power,” said Davids. “They’re breaking their promise to keep Johnson County whole just to please extreme Washington politicians — and it’s not fair. Voters, not politicians, should decide who represents Kansas.”
Under the proposed map, Johnson County — currently represented entirely within Kansas’s Third Congressional District — would be divided for the first time in decades. During the 2022 gerrymander, state politicians promised to keep Johnson County whole. Now, to gain an endorsement from Donald Trump, those same politicians are poised to go back on their word.
Potential gerrymandered map splitting Johnson County.
Background:
State Republican legislators are circulating a petition to call a special session beginning November 7 to gerrymander Kansas’ maps by splitting up Johnson County. Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson announced recently that the Kansas Senate has reached the two-thirds threshold for a special session. While the Kansas House has not yet met that requirement, the state legislature approved $460,000 in taxpayer funds for this special session.
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.
Davids ran to serve the people of Kansas and remains focused on representing them in whatever capacity best allows her to do so. If the unprecedented mid-decade redistricting moves forward, all options remain on the table to ensure Kansans’ voices are heard.