U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids celebrates end of GOP bid to gerrymander Kansas congressional districts

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, shares appreciation for Kansans who are committed to preventing partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts to favor Republican candidates and serve the interests of President Donald Trump. This April 2026 image is of Davids at an event in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo by Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids expressed appreciation Wednesday to Kansans who objected to the effort by President Donald Trump to pressure state lawmakers into gerrymandering the political map to make it easier for Republican candidates to win election in all four Kansas congressional districts.

Davids, a Democrat serving the 3rd District of eastern Kansas, is running for election to a fifth term in the U.S. House. The three other Kansas seats in the U.S. House are held by Republican Reps. Ron Estes in the 4th District, Derek Schmidt in the 2nd District and Tracey Mann in the 1st District. All are seeking new terms in Congress.

Trump urged the state Legislature to approve a new congressional map that would fracture the 3rd District in a way that improved prospects of defeating Davids in November. Two-thirds of the state Senate agreed to hold a special session to work on a partisan map, but the special session didn’t occur because 10 House Republicans declined to sign the petition authorizing the assembly in November. The Legislature could have tackled the issue in the 2026 regular session, but it didn’t happen.

“The fact that we have legislators that were saying they’re more beholden to Donald Trump than they are to Kansas voters was infuriating. Not just for me, but for tons of people, particularly across the 3rd District,” Davids said in an interview. “That’s not a political party thing. Taking someone’s vote and treating it like it’s some kind of chess piece is inappropriate.”

Despite support among some Republicans for a Kansas redistricting fight in the 2026 regular session of the Legislature, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said in December it was unlikely the GOP could muster sufficient political support to implement a revised congressional map. Advocates would need to override a Kelly veto, which required two-thirds majorities in the Senate and House.

Davids said she was pleased Kansas didn’t engage in mid-decade gerrymandering of congressional districts. Protecting the voice of Kansans engaged in the voting process should be the top priority of the Legislature, she said.

“The state of Kansas and Kansans deserve better than politicians, you know, picking their voters and politicians who are trying to literally rig the system,” Davids said. “Kansans see that. Kansans are not dumb. They see that for what it is.”

During the Trump-inspired redistricting struggle in Kansas, Davids hinted she might run for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Roger Marshall if the Legislature chose to carve up voter-rich Johnson County, which anchors her U.S. House district. Marshall didn’t object to redistricting in Kansas in a bid to help keep the U.S. House under control of Republicans for the remainder of Trump’s second presidential term.

Redistricting was championed by Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita. Both are seeking statewide office in the 2026 election cycle.

When the House failed to secure enough petition signatures of Republicans to call a special session on redistricting, Hawkins responded by disciplining 10 reluctant Republican members by stripping them of committee leadership roles. Masterson said he wasn’t surprised the House fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to call a special session. He said it wouldn’t end debate on Trump’s request to alter Kansas’ political boundaries, but it would “change the timing.”

Davids said Kansans made it clear they favored maintenance of a fair electoral process and that they were opposed to partisan attempts to “rig the system.”

“Sure, people want to win their election. And people have their candidate that they support, but I’ve said this so many times, I would be embarrassed if I had to cheat to win,” she said. “Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who care more about politics than they do about representing their districts and their constituents.”

She said the nation would benefit from drawing of political maps that created more competitive races for public office because it meant candidates and elected officials would place more emphasis on listening to constituents. The Democrat has in the past supported federal legislation banning gerrymandering nationwide.