Red State Retreats From Redistricting Fight As California Democrats Notch Major Win
Kansas Republicans backed off a mid-decade redistricting push that could have targeted the state’s lone Democratic member of Congress, even as blue states press ahead with their own efforts to secure more favorable…
Kansas Republicans backed off a mid-decade redistricting push that could have targeted the state’s lone Democratic member of Congress, even as blue states press ahead with their own efforts to secure more favorable congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Republican state House Speaker Dan Hawkins announced Tuesday that he did not have enough votes to convene a special session to redraw U.S. House districts. Republicans control both chambers of the Kansas Legislature, but a two-thirds majority is needed to call a special session without the permission of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
“Planning a Special Session is always going to be an uphill battle with multiple agendas, scheduling conflicts and many unseen factors at play,” Hawkins said in a statement, according to Politico, but added that state Republicans still “wish to have a conversation about redistricting.”
Hawkins’ office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
“For months, extreme Republican legislators in Topeka have been scheming with D.C. politicians to silence Kansas voices,” Rep. Sharice Davids, the state’s lone congressional Democrat and target of the GOP redistricting push, said in a statement on X. “Today we’ve won the first round in this fight against gerrymandering. But their plan to cheat the system isn’t over.”
Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson, who is also currently running for governor, vowed that redistricting will be a “top priority when the Legislature reconvenes in January.”