Signs that Kansas Republican leaders are serious about redrawing the state’s Congressional districts have been gathering in recent weeks, and panelists at a town hall Monday night in Lenexa warned such a move could dilute Johnson County’s influence in Washington, D.C.
Kansas Sen. Cindy Holscher and Rep. Stephanie Clayton, both Johnson County Democrats from Overland Park, urged the crowd of about 60 who showed up to the hastily organized event to talk to neighbors, friends and their representatives about their concerns that new maps could make it harder for urban and suburban voices to be heard if they are folded into a larger rural district.
The town hall was billed as a nonpartisan community education event not connected to any campaign. The event was emceed by Johnson County Commissioner Julie Brewer. Holscher is a Democratic candidate for governor and Clayton, along with all other members of the state House of Representatives, will be up for re-election in 2026.
The national context
Normally, Congressional district lines are redrawn every ten years after U.S. Census data indicates population shifts. But this year Republicans in some red states, at the urging of President Donald Trump, have started a push to change district lines to create more Republican-leaning House seats and eliminate existing Democratic seats.
Kansas has only one Democratic U.S. Representative, Sharice Davids. Changing the district’s makeup to have fewer possible Democratic votes in her district would likely involve putting part of Johnson County, which has trended more Democratic over the past decade, into another district.
The county is currently entirely contained in the state’s Third Congressional District represented by Davids.
‘They are trying to electoral-college the state’
Efforts to call a special session in Topeka to begin redistricting appear to be yielding fruit, Holscher and Clayton told the attendees Monday.
To call a special session without Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s support, the Kansas Senate needs 27 of its 40 members and the House needs 84 of its 125 members to sign a petition.
Clayton told the crowd Monday that the state Senate already has the two-thirds majority it needs to call for the session, but the House has not reaching its number yet.
Holscher said some of Johnson County’s Republican House members who have not made up their minds will go to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for meetings being organized by the White House. (The Sunflower State Journal reported invitations to the meeting, put together by the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, were extended to every GOP member of the Statehouse.)
There’s a possibility that the special session could begin as soon as November 7, Holscher said. Republican leaders have already appropriated $460,000 to fund the session.
Senate President and Republican Ty Masterson, who supports calling the session and is running for governor next year, has said it is necessary to battle for the “heart and soul of America, helping the President to make America great again.”
Clayton said that some people support it because they think that since the state voted for a Republican president, all the Congressional districts should be Republican, as well.
“It’s almost like they are trying to electoral-college the state,” she said.
But Clayton said geographical representation matters, because the member of Congress from the district has lived, worked and raised kids in the district and understands its needs.
Putting Johnson County into a more rural district for representation might mean grouping it with people who “might like the money we make but do not like or understand us,” she said.
Lessons from split-up Wyandotte County
Connie Brown Collins, a Wyandotte County voting rights activist and the third panelist at Monday’s town hall, said she knows from experience what happens when a county gets split up.
The northern half of Wyandotte County was portioned off in 2022, when Republicans sought to weaken David’s re-election chances. That has made it more difficult to get voter engagement, she said.
“It’s not a good situation when you feel powerless to be able to put forth your needs and priorities because you don’t feel you’ll be heard,” she said, adding that some people who were moved out of the Third District and into the Second District now don’t bother contacting their representative with their needs.
Holscher decried the political gamesmanship she sees, saying problems like affordable housing, property tax relief and markets for farmers need to be addressed.
“We don’t have time for these political games. Really there isn’t a reason to do this (redistricting) other than to, in my opinion, break the system, ” Holscher said. “It doesn’t feel like they are hiding what they want to do.”
Holscher and Clayton also expressed concern that calling a mid-decade session to redraw district lines to please a Republican president would damage what Clayton called the “sacred trust” between voters and their representatives.
Holscher said it sets a bad example to essentially nullify the election results by changing district boundaries.
“When you go through a process like this, think about what that does to voters. It makes them lose faith in the government when the government doesn’t adhere to the rules,” she said.
Next steps
The panel heard comments and questions from the crowd about possible responses or solutions.
Holscher said that laws concerning elections and representation need to be strengthened in the future, noting that several states have independent commissions that draw up district lines.
Both lawmakers urged crowd members to talk to friends and acquaintances who are not consistent voters about important issues.
Some attendees said they were concerned about what they see as the erosion of democracy they believe the redistricting push will bring about.
A Paola man, who did not want to be identified by name because he is a government employee, said if Republicans are successful in ousting Davids, “They won’t care what we have to say.”
Scott Michie, an Overland Park precinct committee member for the Democratic Party, said his party is trying to initiate a bipartisan redistricting decision that requires local and state feedback. State Republicans “are going in the opposite direction,” with the redistricting plan, he said.
Another event Tuesday night
The Kansas Fair Maps Coalition, featuring the Mainstream Coalition and others, is holding a redistricting rally Tuesday, October 14 at 5:45 p.m. at the Sylvester Powell Community Center in Mission.
