Sharice Davids inches toward Kansas Senate run
A red-state Democrat is inching toward a Senate run as Kansas’ Republican-controlled legislature debates drawing her out of a seat.
Rep. Sharice Davids met with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) last week to talk through the logistics of a Senate campaign and garner advice from a lawmaker who’s transitioned from the lower chamber to the upper one, according to one person with knowledge of the conversation. Schiff is a vice-chair for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the 2026 cycle.
Republicans in the Kansas state Senate eye redrawing Davids’ district to make it more friendly to Republicans, as part of a nationwide push to deliver a more favorable 2026 House map for the GOP. Across the country, Republicans are looking at drawing up to 19 new House seats — an aggressive push Democrats are starting to challenge ahead of the midterms.
Kansas legislators are scheduled to meet in a special session later this week to take up redistricting. But a sufficient number of members of the Kansas State House of Representatives have yet to offer their support to the effort, some of them criticizing the precedent mid-decade redistricting would set.
Davids, the lone Democrat in Kansas’ congressional delegation, represents much of the Kansas City metro area. She entered the House in 2019.
“If [Kansas Republicans] continue forward on this path, and they’re successful in this, at this point, all I can say is that every option is on the table, including a statewide run,” she said in a press conference last month.
Sen. Roger Marshall (K-Kansas) is the incumbent up for reelection in 2026.
In a press release last week, Davids’ office called the redistricting effort a “power grab” and said she “remains focused on representing [Kansans] in whatever capacity best allows her to do so.”
Spokespeople for Davids and Schiff did not respond to requests for comment.
A version of this article first appeared in POLITICO Pro’s Morning Score. Want to receive the newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
