Ho-Chunk Sharice Davids
from Kansas won her bid for United States Congress on Nov. 6, 2018.
Davids and Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, of New Mexico are the first
Native women elected to Congress. Also, Sharice Davids is the first
L.G.B.T. Native to serve as a federal lawmaker.
Democrat Sharice Davids
unseated four-term incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder, Davids had
53.3 percent of the vote to Yoder's 44.2 percent.
Hundreds of supporters
gathered at an election watch party in Olathe on election night.
The ballroom in the Embassy Suites erupted in cheers after a cable
news network declared Davids the winner in the Kansas 3rd Congressional
District race.
The crowd cheered, "Sharice!
Sharice! Sharice!" and tears of joy could be seen on many faces
as Davids took to the stage. Emotion and excitement filled the ballroom,
Sharice was breaking barriers. Sharice made political history.
Davids began her victory
speech, "I'm, of course, going to start off thanking my mom - and
my two little brothers, who aren't so little, my aunt Allie, who
is here." Her mother is Crystal Herriage and her aunt is Alice Wood.
She went on to say thank
you to her campaign staff, team, the army of volunteers, countless
organizations, Mayor (Annise) Parker for being at the election watch
party, Victory Fund, Emily's List, and Citizens United.
Congresswoman-Elect Sharice
Davids said, "From the beginning, this campaign has been built on
bringing new leaders to the table and new voices to the table. I
am so honored to stand here today knowing that I will fill that
role for our community here in January.
"A lot of you already
know this, but my story is so much like many of the stories that
you all have here. My story is one of hard work and opportunity.
My brothers and I were raised by a single mom, an Army Drill Sargent.
I graduated from Leavenworth High School, a good Kansas public school,
and every opportunity I've had in my life, I know it has stemmed
from the fact that I've had access to a quality public education."
Davids spoke of Kansas
Governor-Elect Laura Kelly and their discussion to make healthcare
and education a top priority.
Sharice said, "As a first-generation
college student, who worked the whole time I was in school, I worked
from Johnson County Community College to Cornell for Law School
and then on to the Obama White House. And that opportunity stems
from access to quality public education. It does.
"But the things I was
just talking about aren't uncommon experiences. It is not uncommon
to be raised by a single parent, a single hard-working parent. It
is not uncommon to be a first-generation college student. No, it's
not. It is not uncommon to work the entire time you're in school.
"What is uncommon, until
now, is to have those voices and those stories and those experiences
truly reflected in our federal government, in Congress, and in the
Senate. We are doing better. That starts tonight.
"But it's not just my
story. It's not just my experiences, and I know, even though I just
talked about how it's not uncommon, the experiences that I have.
The core of this campaign has been about trying to figure out ways
to make sure that as many voices and experiences as possible that
we have in this community are being heard by our elected representatives."
Sharice Davids, a former
mixed martial arts fighter, spoke about the past year, the many
meet and greets, and the people she's met.
Sharice spoke of, "People
like Heather, who dedicated hours to this campaign. She fought off
breast cancer and knew that it is so important to make sure that
people with pre-existing conditions are protected, and they have
access to healthcare.
"People like Laura, who
also dedicated hours to this campaign because she knows that Danny
needs to have access to healthcare. That Danny, even if, he has
cerebral palsy, is no less worthy of access to healthcare than anybody
else."
Davids spoke of the many
teachers, everyone who works in the public school system, and parents
who take care of children. Children deserve all the resources they
need in their schools, so they have every opportunity to have a
thriving economy and a thriving society, Sharice Davids asserted.
She went on, "Too many
people who haven't felt heard or seen and I've said this before,
I hear you, and I see you. We all deserve that because the time
for people to not be heard, and not be seen, and not be listened
to, or represented well changes now."
Sharice Davids spoke
to her campaign staff, team, and volunteers when saying, "We did
this. Every door you knocked on, every phone call you made, every
phone call I made, and shifts you took. Every conversation you had,
even when they weren't easy, sometimes those discussions are not
easy.
"One by one, voter by
voter - by voter, we shared our stories and listened to other people's
stories. We shared our passion, for things like public education.
We shared our commitment to making sure that people have access
to affordable quality healthcare and our commitment to making sure
opportunity is accessible to everyone. That we are creating opportunity
for every single person in our community, in this district, in the
state of Kansas, and in our country.
"I am so excited about
the fact that we have the opportunity to reset expectation about
what people think when they look at Kansas. We know that there are
so many of us who welcome everyone, who see everyone, and know that
everyone has, should have the opportunity to succeed, and today
we showed that. We'll keep doing it because this is hard work. We
know it is hard work, but we are going to keep doing it."
Sharice Davids spoke
of people who cast their vote for Yoder and come January; she will
see every single person. She will listen to every single person.
It is important to her that everyone feels represented.
Davids thanked everyone
for their blood, sweat, and tears that went into the campaign. She
thanked everyone for being part of change and for being there (on
election night).
Congresswoman-Elect Sharice
Davids closed by saying, "I knew we could do better and we
just did! I'm ready to get to work representing all of you in Washington
DC. I have one thing left to say if these last couple of
years have taught us anything, it's that our state motto is more
pertinent than ever. Ad Astra per Aspera. Let's do it!"
'Ad Astra per Aspera'
translates to 'To the Stars Through Difficulties' (statesymbolsusa.org,
13 Nov. 2018).
Sharice Davids will join
at least 100 women in the House of Representatives next year, the
most significant number yet in United States history.
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