Sharice Davids

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

Davids is the first Democrat from Kansas elected to Congress in a decade. 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).

Life and education
Davids was born on May 22, 1980 in Frankfurt, West Germany.

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. Davids got a Juris Doctor from Cornell Law School in 2010.

Mixed martial arts career 
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. 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.

Record 

Professional

|-
| Loss
| align=center| 1–1
| Rosa Acevedo
| Decision (unanimous)
| LCS 18
| 
| align=center| 3
| align=center| 5:00
| Torrington, Wyoming, United States
|

|-
| Win
| align=center| 1–0
| Nadia Nixon
| Submission (triangle choke)
| Shamrock FC – Conquest
| 
| align=center| 1
| align=center| 2:08
| Kansas City, Missouri, United States
| 

Amateur

|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–1
| Heather Rafferty
| Decision (unanimous)
| Pride & Pain MMA
| 
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 3:00
| Hot Springs, South Dakota, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–1
| Chandra Engel
| Submission (triangle choke)
| Ultimate Blue Corner Battles
| 
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 2:36
| North Kansas City, Missouri, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 3–1
| Ronni Nanney
| TKO (knee & punch)
| Ultimate Blue Corner Battles
| 
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 3:00
| North Kansas City, Missouri, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 2–1
| Stacia Hoss
| TKO (knee & punch)
| Ultimate Blue Corner Battles
| 
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:27
| North Kansas City, Missouri, United States
|
|-
| Loss
|align=center| 1–1
| Erin Reynolds
| Submission (armbar)
| Shamrock FC: Midwest Fightfest
| 
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 1:53
| Kansas City, Missouri, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 1–0
| Courtney Martel
| Technical Submission (triangle choke)
| ISFC Midwest Fightfest
| 
|align=center| 1
|align=center| 0:44
| Kansas City, Missouri, United States
|

Legal career 
Davids started her legal career at SNR Denton in 2010.

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.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections
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.

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

Committee assignments 
Committee on Small Business
Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access
Subcommittee on Innovation and Workforce Development
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Aviation
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

Caucus memberships 

 Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus (Co-Chair)
 Congressional Native American Caucus (Vice Chair)
 New Democrat Coalition

Electoral history

References

Other websites
 Congresswoman Sharice Davids official U.S. House website
 Campaign website

1980 births
Living people
Lawyers from Kansas
LGBT politicians
Lesbians
American mixed martial artists
United States representatives from Kansas
US Democratic Party politicians
People from Leavenworth, Kansas
Kansas Democrats
21st-century American politicians