Nature, Published online: 22 January 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00222-7

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, discusses implications of President Donald Trump's imposition of new tariffs on imports with Brett Goodwin, center, and Alan Tipton, owners of The Learning Tree toy store in Prairie Village. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

She’s not saying it, not yet, but U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids sure looks like someone exploring a campaign for Senate.

Wednesday brought the announcement that the Democratic politician would visit four cities outside her 3rd District. Davids told Kansas Reflector that “right now, my focus really is on doing the best job I can by showing up, listening and delivering real results.” She said the tour “isn’t about some kind of announcement for something different.”

On the other hand, she’s still heading out into deepest Kansas. If folks throughout the state say how much they love her, why wouldn’t Davids explore the possibilities?

Davids was set on this path by redistricting chatter last year. Kansas Statehouse Republicans couldn’t muster the votes to kick Davids out of her blue-tinted stronghold, but she began considering next steps anyway. One intriguing possibility was challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in his reelection bid this year.

“All I can say is that every option is on the table, including a statewide run,” Davids said in October when a special session about redistricting still looked like a real possibility.

Republicans’ map-drawing gambit fell apart shortly thereafter, when House members rebelled at the prospect. Journalists stuck around for a few days, examining the wreckage of House Speaker Dan Hawkins’ hubris, but ultimately moved onto other stories. The Legislature gaveled in this month, and leaders have avoided revisiting the issue thus far.

You might expect Davids to have gone back to work, or at least her House reelection campaign. Facts on the ground nationally have changed, however. And they’ve changed in a big way.

President Donald Trump’s administration has gone haywire, bullying Greenland and inflicting tariffs, killing protesters and deporting mothers, kicking people off Medicaid and shutting off food aid, all the while staggering around like an unwanted relative at Christmastime.

Congressional Republicans are retiring in droves. Meanwhile, the GOP holds only a five-seat majority in the U.S. House.

So let’s sit down and think for a spell, as I’m sure Davids and her advisers have done. Democrats need to flip relatively few seats to take control of the House. If they have to fight for every single one of those gains, representatives like Davids would need to stay put at all costs. As a Democrat holding a red state seat, she’s a precious commodity.

But what if party polling shows something else? What if political scientists have begun to suggest that a wave might happen after all? All of a sudden, Davids’ options look wider. And national Democrats may just need her to run for Senate.

Here’s why. Assume that Democrats rack up record numbers in November. Assume the party clinches more than the 14 House seats that Politico classified as “easier opportunities for Dems.” Assume Democrats flip 24 or even 30 House seats.

Now the Republican-led Senate looks like a mighty tempting target. Democrats face an uphill path to take over the chamber, needing to defeat Republicans in Alaska, Maine, North Carolina and Ohio to eke out a majority. Adding Kansas to that list of targets (along with longer-shot possibilities in Iowa and Texas) would give leaders a bigger playing field.

Meanwhile, Marshall has hitched his political identity so closely to Trump that you couldn’t stick a credit card between the two men.

He has accused Kansans disturbed by Trump’s would-be authoritarianism of being paid protesters. He’s shown shocking ignorance of how insurance works (remember, the former obstetrician brands himself as “Doc”). Even after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents gunned down Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Marshall couldn’t bring himself to issue the mildest tut-tut.

A smart Democratic candidate could make acres of hay from this man’s missteps. Several candidates have already jumped into the Democratic primary, with more likely to join them in coming months.

But Davids would be the most formidable candidate by far. She has established a durable base of political support in northeast Kansas and serves on the House Agriculture Committee besides. As a Native American and member of the LGBTQ+ community, she has consistently broken barriers. Like her fellow Kansas Democrat Laura Kelly, Davids can be underestimated. She’s not flashy. She’s not given to grand oratorical pronouncements.

What she is, and what she’s always been, is solid.

She would still face an uphill path. Kansans haven’t sent a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since George McGill in 1930. Marshall’s loyalty to Trump surely counts for something among the MAGA faithful and in the halls of power of Washington, D.C. Several well-qualified Kansans have fallen trying for a Senate seat in the past couple of decades: Barbara Bollier. Greg Orman. Jill Docking.

Yet I think Davids will make the attempt. Democratic leaders want to expand that Senate map. Marshall has humiliated himself repeatedly. Democrats nationwide will be expected to over-perform in November.

If Davids wants that Senate seat, and what ambitious politician wouldn’t, now’s the time to grab for the big brass ring.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

Kansas health care experts encourage safe and effective vaccines to protect against seasonal illnesses. (Getty Images)

LAWRENCE — Six viral diseases — including COVID-19, the flu and norovirus — have been found at high concentrations in Lawrence wastewater as Kansas communities face peak flu season.

COVID-19, influenza A and B, RSV, human metapneumovirus, and norovirus have all been detected at high concentrations in Lawrence wastewater within the last three weeks. 

Wastewater data indicates trends of illnesses spreading within a community but does not correlate to exact case numbers, with doctors saying it’s normal to see high concentrations of respiratory illness during flu season. 

“Wastewater data does not measure individual cases, but it provides a reliable picture of how much virus is circulating in a community,” said Veronica White, preparedness and epidemiology coordinator for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health. “This data captures viral genetic material shed by everyone using the sewer system. One factor that may be contributing to the higher concentrations of respiratory viruses seen in Lawrence’s wastewater is its larger population.”

Lawrence is also seeing an early peak in influenza B compared to the rest of the country. Positive flu tests spiked the last week of 2025, with 32% of total flu tests coming back positive, according to data from the University of Kansas Health System.

Some health care providers such as Watkins Health Center at the University of Kansas are requiring masks for all visitors, patients and staff due to a “record surge in respiratory illnesses,” according to a sign at the front door.

White said early rise in the flu doesn’t indicate a more dangerous flu season, but rather earlier circulation of the virus than usual. 

“Identifying this trend early through wastewater data allows people to take preventive steps, such as getting vaccinated, monitoring symptoms, and staying home when sick,” White said.

Wastewater data also indicated that a newer strain of COVID, known as the XFG or the Stratus variant, has accounted for 82.5% of positive COVID samples, with concentrations increasing by 25% in the last month. The variant has also been increasing nationally, White said.

Dana Hawkinson, medical director for Infection Control and Prevention program at University of Kansas Health System, said there are still large populations of people across the state who have not received a flu shot.

“There have been a large number of people ill and circulators too in our communities. But (the flu) still remains at a high level at this point in time,” Hawkinson said. “There have been extremely low numbers of people not getting the vaccine. We know that we can help prevent this and people’s chances of severe illness and death with it.”

Steve Stites, chief medical officer at the University of Kansas Health System, said that vaccines are incredibly safe and effective.

Hawkinson said flu symptoms include fever, cough, congestion, body aches and a sore throat rather than stomach bug symptoms, with the definitions often getting mixed up during flu season.

Wastewater data has also indicated that Salina is seeing medium concentrations of the same illnesses, except for influenza A, which is considered to be at a high concentration.

“Based on the data, we expect viral activity to continue in both Lawrence and Salina over the next few weeks,” White said. “As we move through flu season, we anticipate seeing elevated influenza activity reflected in the wastewater, especially as the season approaches its typical peak.”

Medical experts continue to advise washing hands, covering coughs and not going into large public spaces when sick to prevent illnesses from spreading.

“You can still go get the flu vaccine,” Hawkinson said. “It’s still recommended, and you can do it now to protect yourself from infection.”