On Tuesday, Republican leaders in the Kansas State Legislature announced that they will not move forward with a redistricting special session due to lack of support in the state House.
Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins (R-Wichita) released a statement on Tuesday that implies redistricting talks will continue during the state’s regular legislative session, which begins on Jan. 12, 2026.
“Planning a Special Session is always going to be an uphill battle with multiple agendas, scheduling conflicts, and many other unseen factors at play,” Hawkins said. “At the end of the day, a supermajority of Republicans still believe there should be oversight of over a billion dollars in assistance for rural healthcare, know the difference between a man and a woman, and wish to have a conversation about redistricting.”
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) refused to call a special session, which would have seen the GOP attempt to gerrymander the seat held by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids (D-IA), who is the lone Democratic Congressman in the state. To bypass Kelly, the legislature needed a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Although the state Senate garnered enough support, the state House failed to get 80 signatures needed from the 125-member body.
On Wednesday, Davids released a video warning that the Kansas GOP has not indefinitely shelved their redistricting talks and that it will likely be a top priority during the regular session next year.
When Kansans speak up, even the most extreme power grabs can be derailed.
But make no mistake — they’ll try again in January to gerrymander our maps. The fight for fairness isn’t over, and I’ll keep standing up to protect Kansas voices. pic.twitter.com/XyIRd6Piw6
— Sharice Davids (@sharicedavids) November 5, 2025
Redistricting stalls as Democrats score big in elections
Kansas became the second Republican-controlled state to balk on redistricting. This comes after Indiana also postponed gerrymandering plans due to lack of support. Meanwhile, California voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that cleared a path for the Democrats in the state to redraw their own congressional maps and offset the gerrymandering efforts of Texas Republicans.
The vote in California was one of several Democratic victories in the off-year elections, which saw Democrats gain ground in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The victories come less than a year after Trump took office, where he has overseen several controversies. Social safety net cuts, reckless tariff policies, federal immigration raids and free speech violations have been hallmarks of Trump’s unpopular second term.