The president of the Kansas Senate said Monday a sufficient number of Senate Republicans signed a petition to call a special session of the Legislature to consider new congressional district boundaries to improve odds of defeating Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids.
Senate President Ty Masterson, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, said the minimum 27 signatures, or a two-thirds majority of the Senate, had been achieved. Republicans hold a 31-9 advantage over Democrats in the chamber.
"The Kansas Senate Republican caucus has secured the signatures needed to exceed the constitutional threshold, demonstrating strong support for this call for a special session," Masterson said. "This threshold having been met marks a critical step toward convening the session, pending the necessary two-thirds approval from the House of Representatives."
To complete requirements in the Kansas Constitution for calling a special session, GOP leaders in the House need to obtain 84 signatures on its petition. In the House, the GOP possesses an 88-37 edge over Democrats.
Despite sending a letter to House Republicans lobbying for support of a special session, House Speaker Dan Hawkins has not announced he landed commitments from enough GOP peers. A spokesperson for Hawkins didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about Masterson's statement.
President Donald Trump, seeking to maintain GOP control of the U.S. House, urged Republican-led states to engage in mid-decade gerrymandering of U.S. House seats to prevent Democrats from winning a majority in November 2026.
Typically, redistricting in Kansas has been done every decade based on population shifts documented in the Census. In Kansas, that timeline meant mapping wouldn't ordinarily be done again until 2032.
The objective of redistricting in Kansas in 2025 would be to distribute moderate voters of Johnson County into two or three congressional districts that would more likely be represented by Republicans.
Currently, Davids serves all of Johnson County, the southern half of Wyandotte County and all of Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties.
Davids won reelection to her 3rd District seat in 2022 and 2024 despite previous modification to her district to favor Republican nominees.
In response to debate about a special session, Davids raised the possibility of running for U.S. Senate next year against U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican.
One redistricting prize available to Republicans would be a Trump endorsement in the governor's race. Former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Masterson and others competing for the nomination and would covet an alliance with the president.
"We're sending a clear message: We're ready to get it done. We look forward to working our agenda to make Kansas and America great again," Masterson said in his statement about the GOP Senate petition.
In addition to redistricting, Republican legislative leaders said a November special session could include consideration of bills on transgender rights and property taxes.
On Oct. 13, the GOP-controlled Legislative Coordinating Council approved spending up to $460,000 on a special session.
"It is clear that Republicans are not focused on the kitchen table issues that Kansans care about," said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes.
Gov. Laura Kelly said she was opposed to mid-decade redistricting because that work would rely on outdated population counts from 2020. She urged the Legislature to conduct public hearings before voting on a new congressional map. In addition, she said the Kansas Supreme Court could find new maps unconstitutional.
This story was originally published by the Kansas Reflector.
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