A national conservative-leaning group is bringing more pressure to bear on the Kansas Legislature to redraw congressional election boundaries before the 2026 election in a new television ad that pits Kansas against California.
Club for Growth launched a new ad Friday that raises the ante for the Legislature to redraw congressional boundaries, an issue that is gaining increasing attention in Kansas after boundaries were redrawn in Texas, Missouri and California.
The new ad highlights California, using it as an example of “liberals trying to rig elections” without mentioning that Republicans have drawn new congressional maps in Texas and Missouri and may follow suit in Indiana.
The Republican governor of Indiana said he’s concerned that his state could lose federal aid if doesn’t pass a new congressional map.
“Liberals trying to rig elections. California Democrats rewriting district lines. Setting the stage to award Democrats control of Congress. It’s time for the heartland to write its own script. We can’t let big state Democrats silence the voice of Kansas voters,” the ad says.
“State Republicans are teaming up with President Trump to fight back with a plan to pass new maps for Kansas. Tell legislators: Restore fairness and support fair maps.”
It was not immediately known how much was being spent on the ad nor how widespread it was being played across the state.
U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the lone Democrat in the Kansas congressional delegation who stands to see her district carved up, blasted the ad Friday.
“Kansans deserve fair representation — not big-money special interests in Washington trying to silence our voices,” she said in a statement.
“This ad is not only misleading, it’s absolute nonsense and the kind of D.C. politics Kansans are tired of,” she said.
“Republican leadership in Topeka is trying to rig the election for Donald Trump instead of lowering costs or protecting health care for Kansans.”
So far, Republican leadership has largely kept its lips tight about drawing new election boundaries, something that could be done in a special session, possibly in November.
Senate President Ty Masterson, a 2026 candidate for governor, has been open about the possibility of redrawing lines.
At one point, Masterson said lawmakers were actively discussing a special session but no date has been set.
Neither House Speaker Dan Hawkins nor House Majority Leader Chris Croft, who oversaw redistricting efforts in 2022, have answered questions about the middecade drawing of new congressional boundaries.
The Legislature would need two-thirds of its members in the House and Senate to sign a petition calling themselves into special session.
It’s only been done once in Kansas history when, in 2021, the Legislature called a special session for Thanksgiving week to fight back against federal health mandates.
“I fully support redrawing Kansas’ Congressional districts and am hopeful that the Kansas Legislature will call itself back into special session for this purpose,” said Republican state Rep. Pat Proctor, chair of the House elections committee.
“If California is going to put its thumb on the scale and tip the balance in Congress, we have a duty to the rest of the nation to fight back,” said Proctor, who is running for secretary of state in 2026.
Multiple interviews have indicated that the Senate is more likely to undertake the effort than the House, where there’s concern about how the effort might not only affect the chamber’s supermajority but how it might affect efforts to pass a constitutional amendment that calls for electing justices to the Supreme Court next summer.
There are persisting questions about how redrawing election boundaries might affect the political future of some Republican Kansas lawmakers who represent swing districts in the Johnson County suburbs.
While the House is believed to be somewhere between 10 and 15 members short of calling a special session, questions linger about what Republicans are willing to stand up to President Trump if he asks the Legislature to redraw lines.
