WASHINGTON — In a video released today, Kansas Republican Senate President Susan Wagle told donors that the Kansas GOP intends to cement its advantage in the state by abusing its power and gerrymandering districts next year. If Democrats break the Republican supermajority in the Kansas Legislature this year, then Governor Laura Kelly would have the power to veto further extreme partisan gerrymandering in the state.
“Republicans know that there’s no way they can win a fair election, which is why in state after state they’ve relied on extreme partisan gerrymandering to undermine the will of the voters,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “Voters should choose their representatives — not the other way around. We need to hold Republicans accountable for abusing their power and make sure they can’t undermine our democracy again.”
After winning majorities across the country in 2010, Republicans relied on gerrymandering to cement their hold on power, even when an overwhelming majority of voters opted for Democratic legislative candidates. Stopping further GOP gerrymandering was a number one priority in the DLCC’s $50 million “Flip Everything” campaign to win state legislative majorities this year.
Democrats need to flip just three Senate seats or one House seat in Kansas to break the GOP supermajority in the state. Kansas has rapidly trended away from Republicans due to years of extremist conservatism, with the state electing Governor Laura Kelly in 2018 and Joe Biden and Senate candidate Barbara Bollier running strong campaigns at the top of the ticket this year.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is the official Democratic organization dedicated to winning state legislative seats. Since Donald Trump’s election, the DLCC and state partners have flipped more than 450 seats and 10 chambers from red to blue.
