Kansas Republicans are cool to Trump’s redistricting drive : NPR

In September, Kansas Republican Party leaders they said they wanted to join National redistricting battle initiated by President Trump for control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

But even in a state that backed Trump by 16 percentage points in 2024, Republicans were unable to muster enough support to hold a special session on redistricting this fall.

“I have yet to hear a compelling reason to vote for this,” said Mark Schreiber, one of 10 Republicans opposed to the proposal in the Kansas House of Representatives. “To me, that’s not the purpose of redistricting. It is not used as a political tool to increase your majority, but to adapt to population changes.”

Other Republican-led states, e.g. Missouri, North Carolina And Texas — heeded Trump's call to develop new congressional maps that would support the Republican Party. Last week California voters new districts approved giving preference to Democrats.

But Kansas' false start was just one example of lawmakers resisting a new round of partisan gerrymandering.

On Friday afternoon, Indiana State Senate President announced There was not enough support among House Republicans for redistricting. Democrats in Maryland have faced scorn from party leaders for opposing the proposed redraws. And in Ohio, where many expected Republicans to resort to brutal gerrymandering, bipartisan deal The result was a map that gave a moderate advantage to the Republican Party.

Why do some legislators oppose redistricting that would help their party?

The reasons why lawmakers resist their party leaders appear to vary widely, including those who object to gerrymandering on philosophical grounds as well as those who simply fear that the maneuvers could backfire.

“The details may be a little different for each state,” said Patrick Miller, a political science professor at Kent State University in Ohio.

Miller said some states, such as New York and Colorado, have filing deadlines for congressional candidates that set incredibly short deadlines for potential redistricting efforts, given the steps required in states to create a new map.

Meanwhile, lawmakers in Kansas and Indiana raised eyebrows at the six-figure sums that must be paid to legislators outside of regular sessions.

Republican leaders in Kansas also face a unique challenge. The state GOP will have to mobilize nearly its entire majority in the state House and Senate to override the Democratic governor's veto.

In general, Miller said, opposition to redistricting does not necessarily come from a justified opposition to gerrymandering.

“I'm sure there are some Republican legislators who oppose Trump and are principled about … redistricting,” Miller said. “But I don’t see it as resistance to Trump at all.”

Kansas Rep. Clark Sanders said gerrymandering is a “fact of life” in politics. But he opposed the hasty redrawing of Kansas's 3rd District, which is led by the state's lone Democrat in Congress, Sharice Davids, because he thought it could backfire on Republicans.

“If we weren't careful, we could end up doing redistricting and making it difficult to win the 2nd District,” he said.

Sanders said he expressed the same concerns when he received a call from the White House a few weeks ago about redistricting.

Last week, Republican House Speaker Dan Hawkins stripped Sanders of his leadership position for refusing to sign up for the special session. He was one of seven committee chairs and vice chairs who were demoted for not toeing the party line on redistricting.

“Unfortunately, we lost ground,” Sanders said. “We just… felt like we needed to do what we needed to do.”

Similar objections have sparked infighting in other states. Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, stood in opposition to his governor by publicly opposing redistricting.

Ferguson argued The legal challenge could put redistricting in the hands of the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court, creating new maps that would hurt Democrats rather than boost them.

“Ready to Ride”

Despite these setbacks, redistricting advocates in several states are still trying to persuade dissenters – under the watchful eye of national parties.

Democratic Governor of Maryland Wes Moore newly formed advisory commission on redistricting, despite opposition from State Senator Ferguson.

And Kansas Republican Party leaders promised to present the maps to legislators when their next session begins in January.

“I learned long ago that when you get thrown by a bull, you shake yourself off and get back on top,” House Speaker Hawkins wrote in a newsletter after his chamber rejected the special session.

When lawmakers return to Topeka early next year, he said, “House Republicans will be ready to go.”

Even some opponents in Kansas, such as Republican Rep. Adam Smith, have said they won't rule out voting for redistricting in the future.

“If another map is drawn that looks a little more representative of my people, I'll probably think seriously about voting for it,” he said.