This past weekend, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson admitted that “Republicans have enough votes to force a special session on [redistricting]” — at Donald Trump’s urging. Yet Masterson and other Republican leaders in Topeka have made no effort to hear from Kansans or hold public hearings, a basic step before rewriting a state’s congressional maps.

“Let’s be clear: Kansans deserve fair representation, not backroom deals,” said Davids. “Republicans in Topeka know their politically motivated plan to once again silence Kansans and gerrymander the state isn’t popular, which is why they’re trying to do it in secret. They are breaking their promise to not split up Johnson County and putting their political futures and Donald Trump’s demands ahead of Kansans’ voices. Voters, not politicians, should choose their representatives.”

In 2022, the Legislature at least went through the motions of holding hearings before passing gerrymandered maps. This time, GOP leaders are trying to bypass the public entirely. Reports indicate that Kansas Republicans will meet with Trump at the White House on October 15 to discuss their plan.

Background:

Recent reporting has highlighted, “the only way to ensure Sharice Davids loses, or any Democrat, is to break Johnson County up.” During the 2022 gerrymander, however, state leaders — including Masterson — promised to keep the county whole. Now, to gain an endorsement from Donald Trump, those same leaders are poised to go back on their word.

Davids 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. These outcomes underscore that even with direct attacks against Davids, voters will not be silenced or overridden by political manipulation.

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.