Sharice Davids

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids is touring parts of Kansas outside of her congressional district.

The tour is fueling speculation that she may run for the U.S. Senate against Republican Roger Marshall.

Davids has previously stated a statewide run is an option, especially if her district is gerrymandered.

Republican legislative leaders have indicated they currently lack the votes to redraw congressional maps.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids is on a tour of parts of Kansas outside her Kansas City-area district, fueling speculation she is exploring a run against Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall — regardless of whether the Republican-led state Legislature gerrymanders her congressional district.

Davids was at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, where she spoke as part of a Jan. 29 Kansas Day celebration.

At least four reporters waited at the end of a makeshift receiving line following the ceremony. After a Davids staffer saw the reporters, she whispered something to Davids, who was swept away without taking questions.

Davids, in a press release from her campaign office, said the public appearance was part of her Kansas Strong Tour, which features stops in Topeka, Wichita, Dodge City and Colby. None of those cities are in the 3rd Congressional District that she represents.

The tour was announced one day earlier. The Davids campaign described it as "a multi-day tour across Kansas focused on meeting directly with Kansans, highlighting local industries, and hearing firsthand how Congress can help lower costs, work across the aisle, fight extremism, and bring stability back to the federal government."

"Each stop," the campaign said, "reflects a key part of Kansas' economy and aligns with Davids' work on congressional committees related to aerospace, agriculture, manufacturing, and small business."

Posts by Davids on social media show she had other stops in Topeka as part of her tour, including a visit to Omni Circle. Her visit to the capital city came one week after Marshall made stops in Topeka, which weren't publicly announced by his office until a day later.

Marshall officially filed for reelection the same day he was in Topeka.

"It's been the honor of my lifetime to serve Kansas in the Senate," Marshall said in a statement. "And I promise to continue protecting our Kansas values and working with President Trump to restore the American Dream for future generations."

Multiple Democrats have announced they are running, creating a contested Democratic primary in the 2026 U.S. Senate race. Three of them — Christy Davis, Anne Parelkar and Sandy Spidel Neumann — participated in a November forum, but none have the name recognition and political experience of Davids.

The tour outside her district has ignited renewed speculation that Davids is mulling a challenge to Marshall regardless of whether the GOP does a mid-decade redistricting.

In October, Davids told reporters that "every option is on the table, including a statewide run" when asked if she would run against Marshall if Republicans proceeded with gerrymandered redistricting. In November, she told reporters, "If they continue to move forward with this, which they have indicated that they will, I will continue to say that all options are going to be on the table."

Despite promising that redistricting would be a priority when the 2026 legislative session started, Republican leadership have said they no longer intend to do so.

House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, told reporters he is "in excess of 20 votes short" of a supermajority needed to override a veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Hawkins said, "If I can't get to a win, I'm not going to bring a bill up just to have a vote."

Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, said he believes he has the votes, but "I'm not going to waste anybody's time" if the House can't pass it.

But Republican lawmakers still have time to change their minds. Masterson, who is one of several Republicans running for governor, has been criticized by primary opponents. Among them are Philip Sarnecki.

"Weak GOP leaders in Kansas just chose to stand down and forfeit the fight for a Republican congressional map," Sarnecki said in a social media post. "Kansas Republicans have a supermajority and can pick up a Republican House seat if they redraw the map. They are choosing not to."