photo by: Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson is pictured in this March 2025 photo.

TOPEKA — The president of the Kansas Senate said Monday that a sufficient number of Senate Republicans have signed a petition to call a special legislative session to consider new congressional district boundaries.

Senate President Ty Masterson, who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, said the minimum 27 signatures, or a two-thirds majority of the Senate, had been achieved. Republicans hold a 31-9 advantage over Democrats in the chamber.

“The Kansas Senate Republican caucus has secured the signatures needed to exceed the constitutional threshold, demonstrating strong support for this call for a special session,” Masterson said. “This threshold having been met marks a critical step toward convening the session, pending the necessary two-thirds approval from the House of Representatives.”

For a special session to be called, the Kansas Constitution requires GOP leaders in the House to obtain 84 signatures on a petition. In the House, the GOP possesses an 88-37 edge over Democrats.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins previously sent a letter to House Republicans lobbying for a special session, but there has been no announcement yet that the special session effort has reached the necessary threshold in the House. A spokesperson for Hawkins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about Masterson’s statement.

President Donald Trump, seeking to maintain the GOP’s control of the U.S. House, urged Republican-led states to engage in mid-decade gerrymandering to prevent Democrats from winning a majority in 2026. Typically, redistricting in Kansas has been done every decade based on population shifts documented in the census. In Kansas, that timeline would mean that the remapping wouldn’t normally be done again until 2032.

The objective of redistricting in Kansas in 2025 would be to split moderate voters of Johnson County into two or three congressional districts that would more likely be represented by Republicans.

Currently, Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids represents the 3rd District — all of Johnson County, the southern half of Wyandotte County and all of Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties.

Davids won reelection to her 3rd District seat in 2022 and 2024 despite previous modifications to her district to favor Republican nominees.

In response to the debate about a special session, Davids raised the possibility of running for U.S. Senate next year against Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

One prize that Republicans could win from the redistricting effort would be an endorsement from Trump in the governor’s race. Former Gov. Jeff Colyer, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Masterson and others are competing for the Republican nomination.

“We’re sending a clear message: We’re ready to get it done. We look forward to working our agenda to make Kansas and America great again,” Masterson said in his statement about the GOP Senate petition.

In addition to redistricting, Republican legislative leaders said other bills could be considered at a special session in November, including bills on transgender rights and property taxes.

On Oct. 13, the GOP-controlled Legislative Coordinating Council approved spending up to $460,000 on a special session.

“It is clear that Republicans are not focused on the kitchen table issues that Kansans care about,” said Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes.

Gov. Laura Kelly said she was opposed to mid-decade redistricting because it would rely on outdated population counts from 2020. She urged the Legislature to conduct public hearings before voting on any new congressional map. In addition, she said the Kansas Supreme Court might find a new map unconstitutional.

— Tim Carpenter reports for Kansas Reflector.