Sharice Davids is running in the 2018 election to represent Kansas’ 3rddistrict in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is an attorney, economic advisor, and activist. If elected, Davids would be the first or second Native American woman elected to Congress and the first openly gay Member of Congress from Kansas. Davids won her primary by 3.4 percent against five other Democrats on August 7. In the general election on November 6, she will face incumbent Kevin Yoder.
Background and Achievements
Sharice Davids graduated from public high school in Leavenworth, KS. She received her BBA from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and her JD from Cornell Law School. A member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, Davids has lived and worked on Native American reservations, helping with economic and community development. In the video podcast services “Smarty Pants” that she created with her brother, she has worked to highlight Kansas City area entrepreneurs with an emphasis on members of marginalized communities. Most recently, under the Obama-Trump transition, she participated in the White House Fellowship program.
Positions on Key Issues
- Supports funding public education, early childhood education, and making college more affordable
- Advocates for Medicaid expansion
- Supports women’s healthcare rights
- Promotes expanding gun safety background checks and creating higher stands for conceal-and-carry permits
- Supports increasing renewable energy usage
- Believes in comprehensive immigration reform and supports DACA recipients
- Advocates for full rights for LGBTQI people
Prospects & Opponents
Sharice Davids won her primary by 3.4 percent on August 7 against five other candidates. In the November 6 general election, she will run against the Republican primary winner, incumbent Kevin Yoder. Yoder was first elected in 2010, but Democrat Dennis Moore represented the district prior to 2010. In 2016, Hillary Clinton won by 1.2% in the district. The Cook Political Report rates the election as leaning Republican, and the Cook Partisan Voter Index is R+4.
Endorsements
- Feminist Majority
- EMILY's List
- Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense Candidate
- Victory Fund
- Raul Ruiz, U.S. Congressman
- LPAC
- BlueWave Crowdsource