Sharice Davids wins congressional reelection bid following digital campaign push

Democrat incumbent Congresswoman Sharice Davids, depending primarily on digital campaigning, has won a second term in Congress.

Davids, ahead in fundraising and projected to win ahead of election day, will continue to serve as the congresswoman for Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District after building a reputation as a constituent focused lawmaker in her first term.

The Associated Press called the race with 18% of precincts reporting as Davids led businesswoman Amanda Adkins by 6% of the vote.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Republican State Treasurer Jake LaTurner defeated Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla to become one of the nation’s youngest meber of Congress.

“I know this campaign didn’t look the way we thought it was going to or that we imagined it would but even in the face of this pandemic, American democracy, it moves ahead,” Davids said in a virtual watch party with the Kansas Democratic Party Tuesday. She pledged to listen to all her constituents and work toward economic and healthcare solutions.

Davids, Kansas’ first openly LGBT+ congressperson and one of the first two Native American women to be elected to Congress, took the Kansas political scene by surprise two years ago when she unseated longtime incumbent Kevin Yoder.

Unlike her campaign in 2018, Davids’ 2020 campaign was marked by digital efforts and few in person events as an effort to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

Amanda Adkins, the 3rd District Republican candidate, faced an uphill battle as she entered the general election behind in fundraising. As election day neared, FiveThirtyEight gave her increasingly small odds of unseating Davids.

Addressing supporters, Tuesday, Adkins encouraged them to stay engaged and pledged to continue supporting the community.

“Please keep the faith,” she said. “I have lived through a lot of hard fought victories in politics and this country is at a great turning point.”

University of Kansas political science professor Patrick Miller predicted Davids’ win saying that Johnson County has seen more change in its voting patterns than Kansas’ other three congressional districts.

“The 3rd is like a poster child for a stereotypical suburban district right now that has actually been trending Democratic slowly for two decades and then kicked into high gear when Donald Trump got elected,” he said.

The gap between Davids and Adkins was accentuated in September with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opted to endorse Davids over Adkins, an executive at health IT giant, Cerner.

The chamber, which usually endorses Republicans, endorsed Davids along with 29 other Democrats. The Kansas Chamber of Commerce president, Alan Cobb, criticized the chamber’s decision as lacking local input.

LaTurner won the Republican nomination for his eastern Kansas district in August to take on Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla after beating incumbent first term Rep. Steve Watkins in the primary.

In a statement, Tuesday, De La Isla thanked her family, friends and opponents.

”Thank you for standing up for what you believe in, running for office takes courage. That’s what democracy is all about,” she said.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy visited LaTurner’s district last month to declare his support for LaTurner.

“I don’t know of another person more better prepared to serve in Congress than Jake is,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said he expected LaTurner to follow the example of his former boss, former 2nd District Rep. Lynn Jenkins.

LaTurner worked in Jenkin’s congressional office before rising through the ranks of Kansas politics, first spending two terms as a state senator before becoming treasurer.

Jenkins, and 4th District Rep. Ron Estes, spoke alongside McCarthy.

“I’ve been his biggest fan ever since,” Jenkins said. “He’s not only one of the nicest men I know, he’s been a darn good state worker.”

Heading into election night, De La Isla had a slight fundraising lead on LaTurner. However, FiveThirtyEight election projections gave the Republican from Galena a 90% chance at winning the election.

Speaking to supporters in his hometown, LaTurner said he chose to run for his kids.

”They deserve a country that never forgets that our right comes from god and not from the government,” he said.

Throughout the race LaTurner repeatedly accused De La Isla of being a radical masquerading as a moderate.

He distorted facts in advertisements to claim that the mayor was actively defunding the Topeka police.

In Kansas’ 1st Congressional District, in western Kansas, Republican Tracey Mann beat Democrat Kali Barnett to replace Rep. Roger Marshall in the House. Incumbent Rep. Ron Estes won reelection in the 4th District.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 7:42 PM with the headline "Sharice Davids wins congressional reelection bid following digital campaign push."