KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The congressional race for the Kansas' 3rd district is gaining attention just days before the 2022 midterm election.
Incumbent Sharice Davids (D) and challenger Amanda Adkins (R) are battling in new district lines this year.
Experts say it's the hottest political race in Kansas, saying it's the only contested congressional race.
Both Adkins and Davids say they're ready for Tuesday.
"I feel great," Adkins said. "I think that since most people view this race as being incredibly competitive and incredibly tight."
Davids agrees it's a tight race, but feels she'll still come out on top.
"I'm actually feeling like really excited about the number of people who are engaged," she said.
Dr. Andrea Vieux, a Johnson County Community College associate professor of Political Science, says it was competitive last time the two faced off.
Vieux says an expected increase in voter turnout and voters crossing party lines on certain issues make it hard to predict a clear winner.
"Probably going to be more about issues," she said. "The big issue is abortion access as well as inflation."
Those aren't the only big factors in this race. The newly-drawn district lines cut out voters in part of Wyandotte County, while adding more rural voters further south.
"It is a better district for me this cycle," Adkins said.
The changes aren't deterring Davids.
"The district looks different, and we have some more rural parts, and really my approach isn't any different," she said.
Vieux says the prior district may have looked better for democrats, but that isn't the full picture.
"In the prior district you would've had more democratic voters, probably due to the changing lines that helps republicans a little bit," she said. "But if the turnout increases like we saw in the August primary, that would actually favor democrats."
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