Sharice Davids: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know | Heavy.com
Sharice Davids is the Democratic nominee running to represent Kansas' third district in the House of Representatives.
The 38-year-old political newcomer would make history on both the state and federal level if she wins the seat on November 6.
Davids could become one of the first Native American women to ever serve in Congress.
(Democrat Deb Haaland from New Mexico could also be elected).
Davids would be the first openly gay congresswoman to represent Kansas on Capitol Hill.
In addition, her background as a mixed martial arts fighter would also be unique on Capitol Hill.
Davids is competing against Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder, who has held the seat since 2011.
But polls indicate Davids has a slight edge over Rep.
Yoder.
A New York Times poll conducted October 14-17 showed that 48 percent of respondents planned to vote for Davids, while 39 percent preferred Yoder.
(The margin of error was +/-4.7 percentage points).
Another indicator of Yoder's uncertainty as a candidate is that the National Republican Congressional Committee backed off from helping him financially.
The Hill reported at the end of September that the organization canceled $1.2 million in ad buys for Yoder.
Here's what you need to know.
Sharice Davids Was the First Person in Her Family to Attend College, Earned a Law Degree From Cornell & is Still Making Substantial Student Loan Payments.
Sharice Davids' childhood involved relocating on a regular basis.
Her mother was in the Army and moved Davids and her brother to various military bases around the world.
But the family was back in Kansas by the time Davids was a high school student.
She graduated from Leavenworth High School.
Davids was the first person in her family to attend college.
According to her campaign website, she graduated from Johnson County Community College and later the University of Missouri-Kansas City with a degree in business administration.
In 2007, she entered Cornell Law School and specialized in business law, according to her Linkedin profile.
If she became a congresswoman, Davids would have a unique perspective on the issue of college affordability and student loans.
According to her financial disclosure form, which she was required to complete as a candidate for federal office, Davids owes at least $100,000 of student debt.
On her campaign website, Davids says one of her goals if elected would be to "support policies that enable people to refinance student loans at lower rates and make it easier to renegotiate a loan's terms.
Davids is a Member of the Ho-Chunk Nation & Worked on Economic Development on a Reservation in South Dakota.
Sharice Davids is a member of the Ho-Chunk nation, a tribe located in Wisconsin.
Davids did some work for the tribe in 2015 and 2016, according to her Linkedin page.
She was on the Board of Director for Twelve Clans, a corporation owned by the Ho-Chunk Nation.
Davids said she was the first chairperson of the board, which focused on finding "innovative ways to diversify the Ho-Chunk Nation's economic development.".
Davids also worked on the Pine Ride Indian Reservation in South Dakota for about four years.
The reservation is the home of the Oglala Lakota tribe.
She served as the Director of Economic Development at the Red Cloud Indian school from August 2012 until October 2013.
David's Linkedin page states that she encouraged high school students to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, by launching an after-school program and a "small business incubator for alumni and community members.".
From November 2014 until August 2016, Davids worked as Deputy Director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on the Pine Ridge reservation.
According to the Kansas City Star, Davids was instrumental in helping the organization win $3 million in funding from the U.S.
Department of Agriculture.
The money was used to improve reservation housing.
Sharice Davids Began Training in Mixed Martial Arts as a College Student & Competed in Both Amateur & Professional Matches.
In an interview with the Guardian, Davids revealed that she had been interested in martial arts since she was a young child.
She loved to watch Bruce Lee movies and imitate his moves, but there was no money in the budget for lessons.
Davids got the chance to begin learning karate when she was 19 years old.
Davids soon moved on to taekwondo.
According to MMAFighting.com, Davids' trained with a coach who had a background in mixed martial arts.
That coach eventually convinced Davids that it would be fun to get in the ring.
Davids made her amateur debut in 2006, at the International Sport Combat Federation's Midwest FightFest.
She won that fight via submission in just 44 seconds.
Davids fought sporadically over the next seven years, earning a 5-1 record as an amateur.
She juggled training with law school and her work with Native American tribes.
She later fought two matches as a professional, and went 1-1.
Davids does not compete anymore, but continues to train.
She says martial arts taught her how to remain calm in stressful situations, but also how to be scrappy.
"Just knowing you can get into a cage and do that is part of how the mindset of a fighter can be applied to pretty much any situation really.".
Davids Was Chosen for a Fellowship Program in the White House.
Sharice Davids has not worked as an elected official before, but she has spent time in Washington, D.C.
In mid-2016, she was one of 16 people selected as part of the White House Fellowship program.
She told the Kansas City Star that the experience turned out to be much different than she had expected.
"I can say I thought I was going to be there at the end of the Obama administration and the beginning of the first woman president.".
She was assigned to work with the Department of Transportation.
She told the newspaper that the experience how important it is for government officials from both sides of the political spectrum to work together.
She also said that working in the Trump administration inspired her to enter politics.
"It pushed me a little quicker into something like running for office.".
In Addition to Her Work as a Lawyer, Davids Briefly Ran Her Own Business & Launched a Podcast Program With Her Brother.
Sharice Davids has shown a drive for entrepreneurship.
In 2013, she launched her own coffee shop in Rapid City, South Dakota, called Hoka Coffee.
She explained on her Linkedin page that the goal was to create jobs in the area and source ingredients from local indigenous farms.
But the company shut down in 2016 "due to limited funding.".
However, Davids reportedly still owes an investor nearly $20,000 since the company shut down.
A judge ordered her to repay New Vision Venture Partners in January of 2016, but as of October 2018, the firm says they had not received any of that money back.
That liability is not listed on her financial disclosure form (see above).
In August of 2017, Davids teamed up with her brother on a video podcast called "Starty Pants." The channel features business startups in the Kansas City area.
They make an effort to highlight women, minorities and LGBTQ business founders.
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