Today, KS Republican legislators meet with White House about gerrymandering
Today, Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03) released the following statement as Kansas Republican politicians travel to Washington, D.C. to meet with Donald Trump and his administration about their unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort — an extreme move to silence Kansas voters and protect their own political power.
“It’s outrageous that Kansas Republican legislators are flying across the country to manipulate our already broken political system for their own gain and extreme agenda, not hardworking Kansans — all to please extreme Washington politicians” said Davids. “Kansans deserve leaders who focus on the issues that actually matter most to them, like lowering grocery costs and improving access to health care — not rigged maps and backroom deals to hold onto power.”
Yesterday, Kansans from both parties attended a nonpartisan rally urging state lawmakers to reject this extreme mid-decade gerrymander
Background:
State Republican legislators are reportedly circulating a petition to call a special session beginning November 7 to gerrymander Kansas’ maps by splitting up Johnson County. During the 2022 gerrymander, however, state politicians promised to keep the county whole. Now, to gain an endorsement from Donald Trump, those same politicians are poised to go back on their word — they just 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.