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3h ago

Kansas House Speaker Halts Push for Special Redistricting Session

Insufficient GOP support for a two-thirds petition stalls plans to target Rep. Sharice Davids until the regular session in January.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, left, failed to secure enough petitions from House Republicans to call a special session on redistricting. Senate President Ty Masterson, right, had enough petitions from Senate Republicans.
Photo Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN/@SenatorBerger via X/California and Missouri state legislatures
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Overview

  • The planned Nov. 7 four-day convening is off after Speaker Dan Hawkins said he would no longer seek signatures to force a session.
  • Calling a special session required two-thirds of lawmakers in both chambers to sign petitions, a threshold undercut by Republican holdouts worried about collateral effects.
  • Senate President Ty Masterson said his chamber had secured the petition signatures, but the House did not reach the mark.
  • Leaders had floated redrawing the map to weaken Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids, aligning with President Donald Trump’s push for mid-cycle GOP remaps.
  • Republicans can try again in the regular session starting Jan. 12, with time before Kansas’ June 1 filing deadline and Aug. 4 primary; the shelved session had been budgeted at up to $460,000.