Kansas's 3rd congressional district explained

State:Kansas
District Number:3
Image Caption:Interactive map of district boundaries since January 3, 2023
Representative:Sharice Davids
Party:Democratic
Residence:Roeland Park
Percent Urban:94.65
Percent Rural:5.35
Population:741,829
Population Year:2022
Median Income:$91,626[1]
Percent White:75.0
Percent Hispanic:10.0
Percent Black:4.6
Percent Asian:4.7
Percent More Than One Race:4.9
Percent Other Race:0.7
Cpvi:R+1[2]

Kansas's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in eastern Kansas, the district encompasses all of Anderson, Franklin, Johnson and Miami counties and parts of Wyandotte County. The district includes most of the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, including all of Overland Park, Leawood, Lenexa, Shawnee, Gardner, and Olathe and parts of Kansas City.

The 3rd district is represented by Democrat Sharice Davids, who was first elected in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder. Reapportionment in 2022 altered the district's boundaries to add Anderson and Franklin counties and the part of Miami County that was not already in the 3rd congressional district. The southern part of Wyandotte County roughly along I-70 stayed in the district, while the area north of I-70 moved to the 2nd congressional district. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of R+1, it is the only Kansas district that is not heavily Republican.

History

2000 demographics

Following redistricting after the 2000 U.S. census,[3] there were 672,124 people, 258,439 households, and 173,022 families residing in the district. The population density was 864.4/mi2 over a land area of 778sqmi. There were 272,721 housing units at an average density of 350.7/mi2. The racial makeup of the district is 82.70% White, 8.88% Black or African American, 2.60% Asian, 0.70% Native American, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.09% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.79% of the population.

There were 258,439 households, out of which 36.52% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.21% were married couples living together, 10.27% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.05% were non-families. 26.12% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.35% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the district, the population distribution by age is 26.60% under the age of 18, 10.49% from 18 to 24, 31.65% from 25 to 44, 21.17% from 45 to 64, and 10.09% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33.6 years. For every 100 females there were 95.78 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.54 males.

The median income for a household in the district is $51,118, and the median income for a family was $62,695. Males had a median income of $42,348 versus $30,353 for females. The per capita income for the district was $26,133. About 4.9% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Among the population aged 16 years and older, 71.0% were in the civilian labor force and 0.1% were in the armed forces. Of the employed civilian workers, 12.8% were government workers and 5.6% were self-employed. Management, professional, and related occupations employed 41.5% of the workforce, and sales and office occupations an additional 28.8%. Only 0.2% were employed in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. The largest employment by industry was: educational, health, and social services, 19.8%; professional, scientific, management, administrative, and waste management services, 12.0%; retail trade, 11.8%; and manufacturing, 10.4%. Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining industries only employed 0.4%.

The district's character is very different from the rest of Kansas, largely due to the influence of Kansas City and its suburbs. While Kansas's other congressional districts include significant rural territory, the 3rd is almost exclusively urban and suburban. As such, it is much friendlier to Democrats than the rest of the state. It was the only district in Kansas carried by Democrats in 2008, 2016, and 2020. The largest county, Johnson, has traditionally leaned Republican, though the brand of Republicanism practiced in the county has traditionally been a moderate one. The second-largest, Wyandotte, has long been one of the most Democratic counties in the state.

2020 redistricting

In recent years, as Eastern Kansas began to grow exponentially, the population has also increased, and has been voting more reliably Democratic. This led to Republican members of the Kansas House of Representatives and Kansas State Senate trying to gerrymander the district maps into reliably Republican, with growing fears that Democrats could win a second seat by 2026 if they did not take action. Several skewed maps were attempted to be passed, but were not able to be passed due to a veto from the Democratic governor Laura Kelly. A less aggressive map was passed by the Kansas Legislature after several maps were vetoed, but critics say this map split notably Democratic Wyandotte County and separates it from Shawnee County, a county more closer regionally and demographically to Wyandotte County, for the purpose of removing Rep. Sharice Davids from her seat in the House. Nevertheless, Davids carried the seat in 2022, after the map took effect.

List of members representing the district

Member
PartyYearsCong
ress
Electoral historyDistrict map
District created March 4, 1875
align=left
William Ripley Brown
Republicannowrap March 4, 1875 –
March 3, 1877
Elected in 1874.
Lost renomination.
align=left
Thomas Ryan
Republicannowrap March 4, 1877 –
March 3, 1885
Elected in 1876.
Re-elected in 1878.
Re-elected in 1880.
Re-elected in 1882.
Redistricted to the .
align=left
Bishop W. Perkins
Republicannowrap March 4, 1885 –
March 3, 1891
Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1884.
Re-elected in 1886.
Re-elected in 1888.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Benjamin H. Clover
Populistnowrap March 4, 1891 –
March 3, 1893
Elected in 1890.
Retired.
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Thomas J. Hudson
Populistnowrap March 4, 1893 –
March 3, 1895
Elected in 1892.
Retired.
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Snyder S. Kirkpatrick
Republicannowrap March 4, 1895 –
March 3, 1897
Re-elected in 1894.
Lost re-election.
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Edwin R. Ridgely
Populistnowrap March 4, 1897 –
March 3, 1901
Elected in 1896.
Re-elected in 1898.
Retired.
align=left
Alfred M. Jackson
Democraticnowrap March 4, 1901 –
March 3, 1903
Elected in 1900.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Philip P. Campbell
Republicannowrap March 4, 1903 –
March 3, 1923
Elected in 1902.
Re-elected in 1904.
Re-elected in 1906.
Re-elected in 1908.
Re-elected in 1910.
Re-elected in 1912.
Re-elected in 1914.
Re-elected in 1916.
Re-elected in 1918.
Re-elected in 1920.
Lost renomination.
align=left
William H. Sproul
Republicannowrap March 4, 1923 –
March 3, 1931
Elected in 1922.
Re-elected in 1924.
Re-elected in 1926.
Re-elected in 1928.
Retired to Run for U.S. senator.
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Harold C. McGugin
Republicannowrap March 4, 1931 –
January 3, 1935
Elected in 1930.
Re-elected in 1932.
Lost re-election.
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Edward W. Patterson
Democraticnowrap January 3, 1935 –
January 3, 1939
Re-elected in 1934.
Re-elected in 1936.
Lost re-election.
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Thomas D. Winter
Republicannowrap January 3, 1939 –
January 3, 1947
Elected in 1938.
Re-elected in 1940.
Re-elected in 1942.
Re-elected in 1944.
Lost renomination.
align=left
Herbert A. Meyer
Republicannowrap January 3, 1947 –
October 2, 1950
Elected in 1946.
Re-elected in 1948.
Died.
Vacantnowrap October 2, 1950 –
November 7, 1950
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Myron V. George
Republicannowrap November 7, 1950 –
January 3, 1959
Elected in 1950 and seated early.
Re-elected in 1952.
Re-elected in 1954.
Re-elected in 1956.
Lost re-election.
align=left
Denver D. Hargis
Democraticnowrap January 3, 1959 –
January 3, 1961
Elected in 1958.
Lost re-election.
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Walter Lewis McVey Jr.
Republicannowrap January 3, 1961 –
January 3, 1963
Elected in 1960.
Lost renomination.
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Robert Ellsworth
Republicannowrap January 3, 1963 –
January 3, 1967
Redistricted from the and re-elected in 1962.
Re-elected in 1964.
Retired to run for U.S. senator.
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Larry Winn
Republicannowrap January 3, 1967 –
January 3, 1985
Elected in 1966.
Re-elected in 1968.
Re-elected in 1970.
Re-elected in 1972.
Re-elected in 1974.
Re-elected in 1976.
Re-elected in 1978.
Re-elected in 1980.
Re-elected in 1982.
Retired.
align=left
Jan Meyers
Republicannowrap January 3, 1985 –
January 3, 1997
Elected in 1984.
Re-elected in 1986.
Re-elected in 1988.
Re-elected in 1990.
Re-elected in 1992.
Re-elected in 1994.
Retired.
align=left
Vince Snowbarger
Republicannowrap January 3, 1997 –
January 3, 1999
Elected in 1996.
Lost re-election.

Dennis Moore
DemocraticJanuary 3, 1999 –
January 3, 2011
Elected in 1998.
Re-elected in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002.
Re-elected in 2004.
Re-elected in 2006.
Re-elected in 2008.
Retired.
2003-2013

Kevin Yoder
RepublicanJanuary 3, 2011 –
January 3, 2019
Elected in 2010.
Re-elected in 2012.
Re-elected in 2014.
Re-elected in 2016.
Lost re-election.
2013-2023

Sharice Davids
DemocraticJanuary 3, 2019 –
present
Elected in 2018.
Re-elected in 2020.
Re-elected in 2022.
2023–present

Recent statewide election results

Results under current lines (since 2023)

YearOfficeResults
2012PresidentMitt Romney 57% - Barack Obama 40%
2016PresidentDonald Trump 48% - Hillary Clinton 43%
2018GovernorLaura Kelly 54% - Kris Kobach 39%
2020PresidentJoe Biden 51% - Donald Trump 47%
2020SenateBarbara Bollier 50% - Roger Marshall 45%

Recent election results

2022

Historical district boundaries

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: My Congressional District. US Census Bureau. Center for New Media & Promotion (CNMP). www.census.gov.
  2. Web site: 2022 Cook PVI: District Map and List. 2023-01-10. Cook Political Report. en.
  3. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. 2008-01-31.