Should Kansas gerrymander its congressional maps? Governor candidates are divided
As Missouri kicks off a partisan redistricting blitz, some opportunistic Kansas Republicans seeking to become the state’s next governor say it’s time to follow suit.
Whether lawmakers are willing to convene their own special session and whether they could agree on new maps that gerrymander Kansas’ lone Democrat-held congressional district out of existence remains to be seen.
“Leaders lead boldly from the front, regardless of the critics. That’s why I am standing with President Trump and calling on the Kansas Legislature to hold a special session and redraw the Congressional lines immediately,” former Gov. Jeff Colyer posted to X on Friday, hours after Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe finalized plans for a special session.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Senate President Ty Masterson both expressed interest in mid-decade redistricting, which President Trump and his allies see as a path to preserving the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House.
The only high-profile Republican candidate who voiced skepticism about prioritizing redistricting was Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt.
“Property tax reductions, quality education and a competent, efficient government are front of mind for Kansans right now. If two-thirds of the Legislature decide to come back for redistricting, I sure hope they consider focusing on those other priorities as well,” Schmidt said in a statement.
Unless Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, calls lawmakers back to Topeka, the only way the Legislature can convene for a special session is if two-thirds of lawmakers in the House and Senate sign a legislative petition. The GOP narrowly holds enough seats to do so, but generating support for a divisive redistricting fight could prove challenging.
As the Senate’s top lawmaker, Masterson would be instrumental in any gerrymandering push.
“I would consider redistricting as a part of the bigger battle for the heart and soul of the country,” he said in a statement.
Masterson would not say whether he hopes to initiate a special session or wait for the Legislature to reconvene in January before entertaining the possibility of new maps.
“Redistricting now has merit,” Schwab said in a statement that he also posted to X while sharing Kehoe’s announcement video.
Targeting Kansas’ Third District
If Kansas Republicans join forces to redraw district boundaries, their goal would be to further divide liberal-leaning communities in the Kansas City metro and oust Rep. Sharice Davids, who was first elected to represent the Third Congressional District in 2018.
In a fundraising email to supporters last week, Davids broached the threat that partisan gerrymandering could pose to her job security.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about redistricting, so we want to break this down in clear terms: Right now, Kansas Republicans want to gerrymander our state and kick Sharice Davids out of office — without even giving voters a say,” the email said.
“If this power grab makes its way through the Legislature, the consequences for our state — and our country as a whole — would be enormous.”
The Third District includes all of Johnson County, Anderson County, Franklin County and Miami County, and part of Wyandotte County.
Last time the Republican-controlled Legislature went about drawing congressional maps, GOP leaders openly speculated about orchestrating a more favorable outcome in the Third District.
The Kansas Supreme Court upheld controversial new district boundaries in 2022, which divided Wyandotte County for the first time in 40 years. But Davids proved resilient, increasing her margin of victory over 2020 in a rematch with Amanda Adkins. She won again in 2024 over Prasanth Reddy.
According to the nonpartisan Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which analyzes the equity of states’ congressional maps, Kansas already has a partisan fairness grade of “F,” signifying a “significant Republican advantage.”
By contrast, Missouri’s existing congressional maps have a partisan fairness grade of “A,” indicating “no advantage” for either party.
Democratic candidates weigh in
Kansas’ Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls expressed uniform contempt towards the idea of reimagining the state’s congressional boundaries.
“I strongly oppose former Gov. Jeff Colyer’s redistricting proposal,” state Sen. Cindy Holscher said in a statement.
“Extremists like Colyer and Ty Masterson will stop at nothing to curry favor with the current administration — even if it means selling out Kansans and undermining their votes.”
Fellow state Sen. Ethan Corson called the proposal “tremendously out of touch.”
“At a time when Kansans are really struggling with affordability, the idea that Jeff Colyer thinks that the biggest crisis facing the state is that politicians aren’t able to pick their voters instead of voters picking their politicians — I just think it’s amazingly tone-deaf,” Corson said.
Marty Tuley, a personal fitness trainer and the only other Democrat in the race, suggested that Kansas should switch to an independent redistricting commission model to minimize political bias in map-making.
What do other Republicans think?
Despite stirring controversy with his call to action, Colyer was not the first GOP candidate for governor to propose entering the nationwide redistricting frenzy.
That distinction goes to Doug Billings, who is still actively campaigning despite his name being removed from the Secretary of State’s candidate list. Billings pitched his plan on social media in early August.
“As your next Governor of Kansas, I’ll fight for fair redistricting and work with the GOP-led Legislature to redraw districts, packing liberal voters into fewer areas and boosting conservative voices in suburban and rural Kansas,” Billings said.
Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara said she fully supports the redistricting effort, and urged lawmakers to take it up in a special session alongside “the growing problem of economic development tax incentives and corporate welfare.”
“As for political backlash on redistricting, Democrats will no doubt cry disenfranchisement,” O’Hara said. “But let’s be honest: there are a vast number of Republicans in the current Third District who already feel completely disenfranchised.
Joy Eakins, a former Wichita school board member, took the opportunity to criticize Colyer’s leadership but said the idea of adjusting congressional districts “has merit.”
“It’s ironic that Jeff Colyer is calling for the Kansas Legislature to redraw the maps when the GOP lost the Third Congressional seat to Sharice Davids while Jeff was governor,” Eakins said in a statement.
“As far as redistricting itself: My top concern is making sure that Kansas doesn’t lose a congressional district in the next couple censuses, which is why we need a Kansas Comeback,” Eakins said.
Wichita businesswoman Stacy Rogers said she hasn’t made her mind up yet about whether Kansas should enter the redistricting fray. She’s skeptical of rushing to redraw maps.
“I’m not sure that this is the right way to go about it at this point, and I need to further look at the whole situation,” Rogers said.
This story was originally published September 3, 2025 at 11:57 AM.
