KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Republican-controlled Kansas Senate voted Tuesday to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a congressional map that would divide Wyandotte County and dilute the voting strength of its minority residents.
The action sets up a crucial override vote in the House, where GOP leaders must summon a two-thirds majority to force the new district boundaries into law. The outcome will reveal whether the Republican Legislature or the Democratic governor currently holds the upper hand in the decennial fight over redistricting.
The map marks an brazen attempt by Republicans to draw boundaries that would weaken the electoral prospects of U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the state’s sole Democrat in Congress. It divides Wyandotte County roughly along Interstate 70 between the 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts. Currently, the entire county – along with Johnson County – is in the 3rd.
The new district lines would place Lawrence, a liberal college town, into the 1st Congressional District. The district, known as the Big 1st, encompasses the western areas of the state and its northcentral region and is reliably Republican.
Senators voted 27 to 11 to override the veto. The action marked a stunning turnaround from Monday, when the override attempt failed.
Sen. Mark Steffen and Sen. Alicia Straub – both Republicans – voted yes on Tuesday after originally voting no.
Steffen’s switch came after the Senate Health and Public Welfare Committee, hours before Tuesday’s vote, advanced a measure to the full Senate that would require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for ivermectin and require a review of state investigations into doctors who have prescribed drugs for off-label uses to treat COVID-19.
Steffen, a Hutchinson anesthesiologist, has said he is under investigation by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts and has acknowledged prescribing ivermectin. He ignored reporter questions Tuesday when asked why he changed his vote, instead asking reporters to attend a forum he is planning on off-label COVID-19 treatment.
Steffen, whose state senatorial district is in the 1st, criticized the congressional map during a floor speech, despite voting to override Kelly’s veto.
“The Big 1st has a long, proud history as a rural agricultural district of Kansas. Ten years ago, redistricting brought us liberal Manhattan. Now they’re dumping the Lawrence liberals in our laps,” Steffen said. “Just like illegal hunting killed off our buffalo in the 1800s, insidious redistricting will kill off the true conservative character of my beloved Big 1st.”
Straub, of Ellinwood, said she “stands for freedom and freedom over fear.”
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said the vote underscored what happens “when you get 24 hours and get to make some backroom deals to get your way.”
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican and a leading supporter of the map, thanked Republicans in a caucus meeting after the vote.
“Those are tense times and sometimes difficult votes,” Masterson said.
Speaking to reporters, he denied a deal was made with Steffen related to the vaccine and off-label drug prescriptions.
If the House follows the Senate and overrides the veto, the map is all but certain to face a court challenge. Democrats and Wyandotte County leaders allege the map, which splits the county in half for the first time in 40 years, constitutes racial gerrymandering, which is illegal under the federal Voting Rights Act.
The House needs five more yes votes to successfully override the veto. The vote is likely to be tight. And Rep. Tom Burroughs, a Kansas City Democrat, says he anticipates similar drama on the House floor to what was seen in the Senate.
House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer said he was optimistic that Democrats, with the help of Republicans could sustain the veto.
“This is by far the most politically gerrymandered map I’ve ever seen,” Sawyer said.
But Rep. Chris Croft, an Overland Park Republican and chair of the House redistricting committee, said he felt good heading into the vote.
House leaders have not yet scheduled the override vote.
———
(The Kansas City Star’s Aaron Torres contributed reporting.)
———
