KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins on Tuesday night signaled an end to his bid to gather enough signatures to force a special session to deal with redistricting, along with some other issues.

“Planning a Special Session is always going to be an uphill battle, with multiple agendas, scheduling conflicts, and many other unseen factors at play,” he said in a statement.

The Kansas Senate President announced last week his chamber had obtained the needed supermajority of signatures to call the session. But both chambers must sign a petition to trigger one on the legislature’s own.

Kansas Republicans were expected to try to redraw the state’s congressional map mid-decade, in an effort to dilute support for the lone Democrat in the U.S. House from Kansas, Rep. Sharice Davids.

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