When the Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature drew new congressional maps three years ago, lawmakers took the advice of local business leaders and chose not to split Johnson County across multiple districts.
“The political decision that was made based on all the input is that the core of the 3rd district is Johnson County,” Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson said on the Senate floor in 2022.
“It has never been divided,” he added.
Some Democrats objected, to no avail, and said Johnson County could be divided if it meant keeping Wyandotte County intact.
But three years later, there’s been a polar reversal on the issue of keeping Johnson County in a single congressional district.
Kansas has joined the sweep of states taking up partisan efforts to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 elections. And Kansas Republicans know the surest way to oust Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids is to break up her district — including the state’s wealthiest and most populous county.
It’s unclear whether the political will exists to make that happen. A proposed special session for redistricting was set for Nov. 7, and several Republicans in the state House have refused to sign on.
Even if the effort to call a special session fails, Masterson indicated redistricting would come up during the regular session, which begins in January.
If it goes through, locals say splitting up Johnson County would threaten the cohesion that has made it an economic and political powerhouse.
What do Johnson Countians think?
Local Democratic lawmakers and civic groups have held town hall meetings where attendees expressed indignation at the push to redraw the state’s congressional maps.
But even locals who are not so politically involved seemed wary of the idea.
It was business as usual on a recent chilly morning at the Overland Park Farmers' Market. Kids cajoled parents into buying pastries and pumpkins. Vendors gathered from around the region to sell produce.
“You find a little bit of everybody in Johnson County,” said Wendall Kennedy, a financial advisor who lives in Overland Park. He views the area within the I-435 loop as distinct from other parts of the county.
But Kennedy said he feels well represented by Davids, who, like him, is Native American.
“So, I hope they don't redistrict,” he said. “If they do, obviously, I vote. That's what I do — that's about all we can do.”
The redistricting effort has caused emotional distress for Kristi Wyatt, a former Kansas City, Missouri, government and policy worker who now lives in Prairie Village.
“It's outrageous,” she said. “It's undemocratic. It's changing the rules that we thought were sacred.”
Dwight Nelson, a retiree living in the southern Johnson County town of Stillwell, did not vote for Davids. He said he supports President Trump, and skews conservative on issues like abortion.
Nevertheless, Nelson said he’s against either party redistricting for partisan gain. And he identifies as a Johnson Countian.
“I don't like the idea of trying to split it up at all,” Nelson said. “I just like it to be one unified area.”
One county, one district
Since taking the 3rd District seat in 2019, Davids’ office said she has won Johnson County $35 million in federal grants to pay for infrastructure improvements. The money has supported a $5 million project to build a bridge in Overland Park, $4 million for low-emission buses and a slew of water projects.
“Johnson County is, in a lot of ways, thriving,” Davids said in an interview. “Splitting the county would add a level of complexity that's not necessary.”
Johnson County’s $58 billion annual GDP is the largest in the state. It contains three of the five most populous cities in Kansas, and has continued growing by the thousands every year.
Several major economic development projects have found their way to the area recently. In July, tech giant Panasonic started producing batteries for electric vehicles at a massive plant near De Soto. Data centers — and maybe even a stadium — could follow.
Davids said synergy between different levels of government has been a key ingredient in Johnson County’s success. And she’s worried that altering the composition of the district could strip a layer of support from the area.
Don Haider-Markel, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, said fracturing the county into multiple districts that stretch away from Kansas City would effectively diminish its voters’ representation.
“Residents of Johnson County would have their voices diluted with the inclusion of more rural voters that have different sets of concerns,” he said.
Civil rights groups have voiced similar concerns about proposed maps in Missouri.
It’s not just Democratic lawmakers and advocates who want to keep the county whole.
Kevin Walker, chief policy officer at the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, said in an interview that keeping Johnson County within one district would not just bolster its economy, but also reflect a sense of shared identity.
“If you divide us (between congressional districts),” he said, “you just create artificial divides that don't need to be there.”
“An ugly word”
In a recent interview, Masterson acknowledged that he supported keeping Johnson County intact in 2022.
“When we were having that discussion at the time, from the information we had, that seemed to make sense to me,” he said. “The difference is, I'm not drawing this map, right?”
Republican Kansas Congressmen Ron Estes, Tracey Mann and Derek Schmidt would oversee the redrawing of their own districts, a spokesperson for Masterson later confirmed. Then the state Legislature would vote on the maps.
Besides, he said, Johnson County will eventually be too big to fit in one district. The county is about 100,000 heads behind the 735,000 people needed to fill each U.S. House district in Kansas.
An analysis by the Barton School of Business at Wichita State University estimates Johnson County would not reach that point until 2047.
Proponents of redistricting in Kansas have also pointed out that Democrat-led states have taken up similar efforts. After the Texas Legislature redrew its maps at President Trump’s request, California and many other states have followed suit.
“Gerrymandering, we've all been trained, is an ugly word — and it is,” said Doug Shane, a Republican state senator in Johnson County, in an interview.
“But the country largely has gerrymandered for a long, long time,” he said. “We just tried to pretend like that's not what people were doing.”
Zane Irwin reports on politics, campaigns and elections for the Kansas News Service. You can email him at zaneirwin@kcur.org.
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