Sharice Davids has been an underdog throughout her short political career. When she decided to enter the Democratic primary in 2018 she faced two well-funded opponents who were seen as favourites to take the nomination. When AOC and Bernie Sanders, alongside Our Revolution, endorsed one of her opponents the race gained a certain degree of national attention. Propelled by endorsements of her own from Emily’s List, the LGBQT Victory Fund and Equality Kansas, and the power of her own personal journey, she surprised many by winning the contest.
Her personal history contains the key to her success — it is a story of tenacity and courage in the face of ongoing discrimination faced by Indigenous Americans and members of the LGBQT community. She was raised in a household led by a single mother who served in the US Army. She is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation from Wisconsin who moved away from her home community to follow her mother to Kansas where she was stationed. While earning her law degree, she trained as a Mixed Martial Arts Fighter and had two professional and six amateur fights, winning six of them.
In an age where people are coming to understand how much representation matters, Sharice displayed a unique combination of qualities unlike any other who had run in Kansas before. And whether speaking of her Indigenous Heritage, her work in assisting Indigenous entrepreneurs, the impact of being LGBQT in a conservative state, or her MMA training and history, the picture emerged of a woman with a history of fighting for herself and for others.
Sharice Davids was one of forty Democrats who defeated Republican incumbents in 2018. Trent Yoder was an odious figure who had won races since 2011 rather handily, including a victory by over 20% in 2014. The district was changing, however, and was identified as a potential pick-up by Democrats.
Sharice’s fighting spirit and tenacity led to a 9% victory in a largely suburban district in Kansas. It was a remarkable statement for Sharice Davids and demonstrated her understanding and connection to the people of the district.
Although the race did gain some National notoriety, she, along with Deb Hyland were the first Indigenous women elected to Congress and Sharice was the first openly Lesbian woman elected to Congress from Kansas, she did not seek out a national profile after her election. Instead, she focused on issues important to her district and on earning the trust and loyalty of her voters. The fact is, especially in swing districts such as hers, members of Congress do not have the time or resources to focus on establishing a national role. While other congressional newcomers gained prominence, her time was devoted to her district.
This focus is best seen through a remarkable and innovative program she runs called “Sharice’s Shifts”. Once every two months she shadows ordinary workers in Kansas to gain added insight into the challenges they face. As she said when announcing the program, “I can’t represent KS03 from behind a desk”.
The following represents just one of her “Shifts”. She also worked a day in a coffee shop and a food outlet.
Sharice Davids is an example of the great Democratic representatives who promote Democratic values while focusing their attention on their districts.
We would love to hear about your down-ballot-related idea, in the comments below or kosmailed to the group! Would you like to write about a challenger taking on a Republican-held or red-leaning seat? How about our embattled incumbents, many of whom have been targeted by dark money and other nasty attacks? Or do you have another down-ballot-related idea? This is a way to make a difference!
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DKHIVE Group Guidelines
The DKHive Community group has been created by former Kamala2020 Group members to positively support efforts to re-take the Senate and keep Democratic control of the House of Representatives.
We will support candidates supported by Senator Harris as well as other candidates, especially women, POC, and down-ballot democrats in local races.
All should be made to feel welcome here. What’s not welcomed here is petty bickering over any of our preferred candidates, or personal attacks on fellow Democrats. We’re not responsible for the actions of others who may offend, insult or attempt to sow discord and disunity — that’s on them.
What we are responsible for are our own words and actions — that’s 100% on us.
We’d like to ask all group members, as well as those dropping by who support or are interested in Democratic control of the Senate and House, that we not respond to negativity from other campaigns’ supporters with even more negativity. Let’s do better than our best and respond with respect, humor or try to hold our peace.
(FYI: Zero Tolerance for Misogyny/Misogynoir)
😋 ❤️ 😋 💜 😋 💙 😋
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If you would like to join our group, please ask for an invitation in the comments, and one will be KosMailed to you.
Our members will largely share in writing diaries, in much the same fashion as we did with the Kamala2020 group — all voices are welcome. We hope to continue with regular 2 or 3 x weekly diaries, although we will vary the publish times of the diaries throughout the week. Suggestions on this are welcome! Sign-ups will begin immediately!
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Please volunteer for the down-ballot effort!
YOUR VOICE MATTERS!
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Upcoming schedule:
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Saturday |
Jan 18 |
8 am MST (10 am EST) |
rflctammt |
Monday |
Jan 20 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Thursday |
Jan 23 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Saturday |
Jan 25 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Monday |
Jan 27 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Thursday |
Jan 30 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Saturday |
Feb 1 |
time TBA |
TBA |
Monday |
Feb 3 |
7 am MST (9 am EST) |
A7sam |