Sharice Davids

American attorney and politician

Sharice Lynnette Davids (born May 22, 1980) is an American attorney, former mixed martial artist, and Democratic politician.[2] She became the member of the United States House of Representatives for Kansas's 3rd congressional district on January 3, 2019.

Sharice Davids
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byKevin Yoder
Personal details
Born
Sharice Lynnette Davids[1]

(1980-05-22) May 22, 1980 (age 44)
Frankfurt, West Germany
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHaskell Indian Nations University
University of Kansas
Johnson County Community College
University of Missouri–Kansas City (BA)
Cornell University (JD)

Davids is the first Democrat from Kansas elected to Congress in a decade.[3] Davids is the first openly LGBT Native American in the United States Congress, the first openly gay person elected to the United States Congress from Kansas, and one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress (along with Deb Haaland of New Mexico).[4][5][6]

Life and education

change

Davids was born on May 22, 1980 in Frankfurt, West Germany.[7]

Davids is a member of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people. She is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. She lives in Roeland Park.

Davids went to Leavenworth High School, Haskell Indian Nations University, the University of Kansas, Johnson County Community College, and the University of Missouri–Kansas City. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2007.[8][9] Davids got a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 2010.[10]

Mixed martial arts career

change

Davids started competing in mixed martial arts (MMA) as an amateur in 2006. She became a professional in 2013. She had a 5–1 win–loss record as an amateur, and she had a 1–1 record as a professional.[10] She tried out for The Ultimate Fighter but did not make it onto the show. After this, she stopped doing MMA, leading her to travel the U.S. and live on Native American reservations, where she would work with the communities on economic and community development programs.[9]

Record

change
Professional
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 1–1 Rosa Acevedo Decision (unanimous) LCS 18 March 1, 2014 3 5:00 Torrington, Wyoming, United States [11][12]
Win 1–0 Nadia Nixon Submission (triangle choke) Shamrock FC – Conquest November 1, 2013 1 2:08 Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
Amateur
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 5–1 Heather Rafferty Decision (unanimous) Pride & Pain MMA October 20, 2012 3 3:00 Hot Springs, South Dakota, United States [12]
Win 4–1 Chandra Engel Submission (triangle choke) Ultimate Blue Corner Battles January 27, 2012 1 2:36 North Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
Win 3–1 Ronni Nanney TKO (knee & punch) Ultimate Blue Corner Battles April 1, 2011 3 3:00 North Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
Win 2–1 Stacia Hoss TKO (knee & punch) Ultimate Blue Corner Battles August 27, 2010 1 0:27 North Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
Loss 1–1 Erin Reynolds Submission (armbar) Shamrock FC: Midwest Fightfest May 11, 2007 1 1:53 Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
Win 1–0 Courtney Martel Technical Submission (triangle choke) ISFC Midwest Fightfest October 27, 2006 1 0:44 Kansas City, Missouri, United States [12]
change

Davids started her legal career at SNR Denton in 2010.[13]

In 2016, she was a White House Fellow in the Department of Transportation. This was during the change between the Barack Obama and Trump administrations.[8]

U.S. House of Representatives

change

Elections

change

In the 2018 election, Davids ran for the United States House of Representatives in Kansas's 3rd congressional district. In the August primary election, she defeated fellow Democrat Brent Welder (who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders). She won 37% of the vote; Welder won 34% of the vote. She faced incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder in the November 6, 2018 general election.[14]

Davids defeated Yoder.[15][16] She and fellow Democrat Deb Haaland of New Mexico, a Laguna Pueblo, are the first Native American women in Congress.

Committee assignments

change

Caucus memberships

change

Electoral history

change
Kansas's 3rd Congressional District Democratic Primary (2018)[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sharice Davids 23,066 37.3
Democratic Brent Welder 20,904 33.8
Democratic Tom Niermann 8,844 14.3
Democratic Mike McCamon 4,278 6.9
Democratic Sylvia Williams 2,906 4.7
Democratic Jay Sidie 1,762 2.9
Total votes 61,760 100
Kansas's 3rd Congressional District Election (2018)[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sharice Davids 164,253 53.3
Republican Kevin Yoder (incumbent) 136,104 44.2
Libertarian Chris Clemmons 7,643 2.5
Total votes 343,113 100
Democratic gain from Republican

References

change
  1. Missouri Bar 2010 Admittees
  2. Sharice Davids Biography, Wiki, Age, Education, Family, LGBTQ, MMA, Kansas Democrat Candidate Archived 2018-11-09 at the Wayback Machine, Globintel, September 30, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  3. Lowry, Brian (April 15, 2019). "'Not a showoff.' Sharice Davids' quiet approach endears her to Democratic leaders." The Kansas City Star. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  4. Watkins, Eli (November 7, 2018). "First Native American women elected to Congress: Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland". CNN.
  5. Lowry, Bryan; Bergen, Katy (November 6, 2018). "Sharice Davids makes history: Kansas' 1st gay rep, 1st Native American woman in Congress". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  6. "CNN.com – Transcripts". Transcripts.cnn.com. August 23, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2018.
  7. "DAVIDS, Sharice". U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved June 25, 2019. Official listing on the History archives of the U.S. House of Representatives.
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Shawnee resident, White House fellow Sharice Davids enters race for Yoder's seat". February 15, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Karim Zidan (August 6, 2018). "How Sharice Davids traded in MMA for a shot at political history". The Guardian. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  10. 10.0 10.1 Raimondi, Marc (March 14, 2018). "Ex-MMA fighter Sharice Davids trying to go from the cage to Congress". MMA Fighting. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  11. "Rosa Acevedo". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Sherdog.com. "Sharice Davids MMA Stats". Sherdog. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  13. Stanley-Becker, Isaac (August 14, 2018). "Sharice Davids, who sees past discrimination as her asset, could become the first gay Native American in Congress". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  14. Senter, Jay (August 8, 2018). "Sharice Davids edges Brent Welder for Democratic nomination, will face Kevin Yoder in fall". Shawnee Mission Post. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  15. Kenny, Caroline (August 9, 2018). "Ex-MMA fighter Sharice Davids could become the first lesbian Native American congresswoman – CNNPolitics". Cnn.com. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  16. "Sharice Davids edges Brent Welder for Democratic nomination, will face Kevin Yoder in fall". August 8, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  17. "Members". LGBT Equality Caucus. Archived from the original on 2019-03-31. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  18. "Native American Caucus Leadership Established for 116th Congress". Representative Debra Haaland. 2019-01-30. Archived from the original on 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  19. "Kansas Primary Election Results". The New York Times. New York. September 24, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  20. "Kansas Election Results: Third House District". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 9, 2018.

Other websites

change