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.

### 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**

## Other websites

- Congresswoman Sharice Davids official U.S. House website
- Campaign website

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Sharice Davids
- **image**: Sharice Davids.jpg
- **state**: Kansas
- **term start**: January 3, 2019
- **predecessor**: Kevin Yoder
- **birth name**: Sharice Lynnette Davids
- **birth place**: Frankfurt, West Germany
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **education**: Haskell Indian Nations University
University of Kansas
Johnson County Community College
University of Missouri–Kansas City (Bachelor of Arts, BA)
Cornell University (Juris Doctor, JD)