The shifting boundaries of Kansas's second congressional district

Wars & Conflicts · Published 16 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: A congressional district is rarely a static piece of geography. From its 1874 origins to recent redistricting, the borders of Kansas's 2nd district have expanded, contracted, and migrated across the state, reflecting the changing tides of American census data and political reapportionment.

The 2nd congressional district was formally established by an act of the legislature on March 2, 1874. This followed the 1870 U.S. census, which entitled Kansas to three members of the House of Representatives. Prior to this, the state had only one representative, and in 1872, three representatives-at-large were elected. The state's initial single representative was the only seat available before the 1870 census results changed the legislature's structure.

The district's geography has undergone significant transformations driven by decennial census results. In 1883, Governor George Washington Glick approved an act that reduced the district's scope, narrowing it to a specific set of nine counties, including Wyandotte, Johnson, and Douglas. By 1905, the state had grown to eight districts, yet the 2nd district's core composition remained largely consistent with that 1883 reduction. The 1880 census later expanded the state's total representation to seven members. This growth eventually led to the 1905 division of the state into eight distinct districts.

More recent decades have seen even more dramatic shifts due to reapportionment. The 2002 redistricting moved parts of Lawrence and Miami County into the district, while the 2012 cycle brought the entirety of Lawrence into the fold and added Montgomery and Nemaha counties. However, the 2022 redistricting significantly altered the landscape again, moving the entirety of Lawrence to the 1st district and shifting several counties, such as Anderson and Franklin, into the 3rd district.

Today, the district covers much of eastern Kansas, excluding the core of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. It currently includes cities such as Topeka, Emporia, Junction City, and Leavenworth, and is represented by Republican Derek Schmidt. The 2012 boundaries also removed Manhattan, the home of Kansas State University, from the district's jurisdiction. The district currently encompasses less than one quarter of the total land area of Kansas.

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