U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids views Kansas redistricting as polarizing, anti-democratic
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat from Kansas shown here in Abilene in 2023, is opposed to the Kansas Legislature complying with President Donald Trump's request to redraw the state's four U.S. House districts to make it easier for a Republican candidate to win her seat in Congress in the 2026 election. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids objected Friday to being targeted by Republicans eager to adopt a new congressional map for Kansas that divided Johnson County and further gerrymandered the state’s four districts.
A special session of the Kansas Legislature to consider changes advocated by President Donald Trump could follow the playbook used in Texas and Missouri. In both states, the GOP has moved to undermine Democratic strongholds to bolster the Republican majority in the U.S. House. In response, California and other states have expressed interest in altering district boundaries to favor Democrats.
“Politicians are once again focused on political games to benefit themselves and their extreme agenda, not hardworking Kansans,” Davids said. “Voters should pick their representatives, not the other way around, and this unprecedented step would only further polarize this country and harm our democracy.”
Davids was elected to the 3rd District seat in 2018 and earned reelection three times. Ahead of the 2022 election, the Legislature removed the northern half of Wyandotte County from her district and added a cluster of rural counties to improve the odds for Republican candidates. For the second time, Davids defeated GOP nominee Amanda Adkins while increasing her margin of victory over the 2020 result.
“I ran for Congress to serve the people of Kansas, and if this moves forward, every option will remain on the table to make sure Kansans’ voices are heard,” Davids said.
Trump urged states to manipulate congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterm in an attempt to pad the thin GOP majority in the U.S. House.
In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill designed to create five additional right-leaning districts at the expense of Democrats. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is spearheading a plan to place five GOP districts in hands of Democrats. A map under review by Missouri lawmakers would shift a Kansas City area district to the right.
A comparable effort by legislative leaders in Kansas to weaken Davids’ prospects of winning in 2026 would likely involve undercutting the electoral influence of Johnson County voters. Splitting the county between two congressional districts and blending those areas with large contingents of Republicans would make it more difficult for Davids to prevail.
Johnson County has recently favored Democrats, including Davids and Gov. Laura Kelly. In 2022, Kelly won reelection with 49.5% of the statewide vote, but benefitted from a 59% margin in Johnson County. Secretary of state candidate Jeanna Repass and attorney general candidate Chris Mann, both Democrats, carried Johnson County in 2022, but lost those races when the statewide vote was tallied.
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, said gerrymandering had been a reality in politics throughout his life.
“Most of the blue states are gerrymandered to the point that … I don’t know what else they could do to change the ratio,” he said. “The Democrats have always led in this gerrymandering.”
The GOP quest in ’26
Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor in 2026, said the Legislature ought to promptly redraw congressional boundaries to favor Republicans. It would demonstrate the state’s political support for Trump, he said.
“National Democrats have gerrymandered Congress to make it more liberal than the real America,” Colyer said. “Kansas needs to lead the way in restoring sanity to our federal government.”
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican who is among more than a half dozen GOP candidates for governor, said a special session devoted to redistricting the state’s congressional districts was under discussion.
“I am actively engaged in the battle for the heart and soul of America, helping the president to Make America Great Again,” he said.
Three years ago, there was an effort by Masterson and other legislators to hold Johnson County together as a community of interest as Kansas last overhauled congressional maps based on 2020 Census data.
He said the obligation was to divide the state’s population into four equal quadrants. That was done, he said, ahead of the 2022 election in a way that maintained Johnson County as the core of the 3rd District.
“We don’t draw the maps on voters,” Masterson said at that time. “We draw the map on residents.”
Masterson also issued a statement that said the Legislature’s mapping resulted in “compact and contiguous districts,” and it “preserves existing district cores and groups together communities of interest.”
In 2022, Kelly vetoed the congressional map adopted by the Legislature because she disagreed with moving half of Wyandotte County out of Davids’ district. The Legislature voted to override her. Lawsuits were filed to prevent implementation of the new congressional map as plaintiffs argued racial gerrymandering was illegal.
A district court judge agreed with the plaintiffs, but the Kansas Supreme Court reversed the lower court and affirmed the constitutionality of the new congressional map.
‘Pandering to extremists’
House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, said interest among Republican candidates for governor to subvert the will of Kansas voters through redistricting was about landing Trump’s endorsement.
“The push for congressional redistricting is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to gain Trump’s favor and advance personal political ambitions,” Woodard said. “With so many Republican candidates now vying for governor, it’s clear that the race has become a contest to win Donald Trump’s endorsement.”
He said supporters of redistricting in Kansas were “pandering to extremists in Washington, D.C.”
In Kansas, Republicans hold supermajorities over Democrats in the House and Senate. Redrawn maps targeting Davids would likely be vetoed by Kelly. The question would be whether GOP leadership in the House and Senate could control their partisan advantage to deliver two-thirds majorities to override the governor again.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes of Lenexa said Kansas traditionally reapportioned state and federal districts on a 10-year cycle. She said it was wrong to diverge from that principled process.
“When those in power, regardless of which side of the aisle they are on, use their position of power to silence others and only increase their own power, we all lose,” Sykes said.
Sykes said GOP changes to Kansas’ congressional map could mean the votes of thousands of people no longer had an influence on the outcome of U.S. House races.
“There is no wonder why so many Americans have lost faith in their government,” she said. “They lose faith when politicians use the power of an office to take power away from where it belongs — in the hands of the people.”