Kansas legislators won't have a special session to join the US redistricting battle

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House's top Republican on Tuesday dropped efforts to force a redraw of U.S. House districts that would have thrust the state into a widening national battle for partisan advantage in the 2026 elections.

The announcement by House Speaker Dan Hawkins ended a weekslong push by GOP lawmakers to circumvent Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and call themselves into a special session on redistricting, which would have convened Friday.

A session would have targeted four-term U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the only Democrat in the state’s four-person House delegation.

Republicans still could draw a map designed to oust her after the GOP-supermajority Legislature convenes its next regular annual session in January. Indeed, state Senate President Ty Masterson promised immediately after Hawkins' announcement that redistricting would be “a top priority” early next year.

Kansas Republicans were trying to answer President Donald Trump's call for states to redraw their maps to give the GOP more winnable seats ahead of the 2026 midterms so the party stands a better chance of keeping its slim House majority.

The Kansas constitution allowed Republicans to bypass Kelly’s refusal to call a special session by having two-thirds of the members of both chambers sign a petition. The GOP has the necessary supermajorities in both chambers, and enough GOP senators were on board, but a few House Republicans would not sign.

Some GOP critics opposed a mid-decade redistricting, while others feared that changes could make the three other Republican-held districts more competitive for Democrats.

“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.

Davids conceded that the fight over a new Kansas map isn't over.

“We've won the first round in this fight against gerrymandering,” she said in a statement.

Kansas lawmakers haven’t done a mid-decade congressional redistricting since 1965, following federal court rulings requiring congressional and legislative districts to be as nearly equal in population as possible as a matter of fairness to all voters.

Most of Davids' district is in the Kansas City area, dominated by Johnson County, the state's most populous county. It is highly likely that Republicans would have to split Johnson County between at least two districts to hurt Davids enough for her to lose in 2026 — and that could alienate voters there.

Laurel Burchfield, advocacy director for the Mainstream Coalition, which opposes a mid-decade redistricting, said Kansas residents want GOP lawmakers to focus on economic issues and lowering costs for families.

“Changing the maps mid-decade to rig the system in their favor is wrong,” Burchfield said in a statement texted to The Associated Press.

GOP lawmakers in Texas,Missouri and North Carolina have heeded the president's call for new maps, creating seven additional Republican seats among them. California countered with an initiative on Tuesday's ballot to pick up five Democratic seats there.

In Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore announced Tuesday that he has formed a commission to consider mid-cycle redistricting despite the state Senate president saying last week that his chamber would not move forward with redistricting. Democrats hold seven of eight House seats there.

In Kansas, it would have been only the second time in the state's 164-year history that lawmakers bypassed the governor for a special session. The only previous time was in 2021, when Republicans sought to challenge federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates. GOP leaders circulated this year's petition for weeks.

Hawkins' statement was titled, “Countdown to January 12th,” the date lawmakers open their next annual session. Hawkins said in his statement that most Republicans “wish to have a conversation about redistricting.”

GOP lawmakers would still have time to get a new map into law. The state's candidate filing deadline isn't until June 1, and the primary election is Aug. 4.

Davids has said she expects to challenge a new congressional map in court. She also is considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year against incumbent Republican Roger Marshall if her district is redrawn.

“Every option is on the table, including a statewide race,” Davids said during a recent Zoom news conference.

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Associated Press journalist Brian Witte contributed reporting from Annapolis, Maryland.