Rep. Sharice Davids, an alumnus of the college, is running for re-election. The congresswoman currently resides at the representative of the third district for the U.S. House of Representatives, which covers all of Wyandotte and Johnson county, as well as parts of Miami County.
Davids said she is running for re-election to continue the work she has done for healthcare and with the pandemic effecting virtually everyone in the United States in some way or another, Davids believes this is the time to work harder on getting affordable healthcare and education to individuals.
“We’ve seen that this [pandemic] has demonstrated to us all, whether we are talking about our health care access, whether were talking about education access, or our economy, that there are a lot of things that need to change,” Davids said. “I’ve been working really hard over this last couple of years during my time as the representative for this district to make sure that we’re doing things that are going to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, make Healthcare more accessible and I think being in this pandemic has just illustrated just how much more work we have to do and I’m looking forward to continuing that work to continue representing this district.”
The pandemic has not only changed the lives of many Americans, but it has also changed the way that politicians are running their campaigns. Davids notices the difference but she said the campaign is still going strong.
“I miss seeing folks in person,” Davids said. “So much of the energy around a campaign I think is getting the chance to knock on doors to really get to talk to people face-to-face, to really get to hear from folks at small gatherings what issues are the most important today to them and we’re not getting the chance do that. I am doing lots of virtual events. We’re still doing everything we can to continue to engage and connect with folks…surprising as it might be before all of this if you would have told me how you’re going to be able to feel the energy through Zoom, I don’t know if I would have necessarily believed that, but we are seeing a lot of people who are really energetic, really engaged and I think we’re going to see some pretty phenomenal turn out during this 2020 cycle.”
For current and former college students, Davids understands the need to make student loans easier to pay off and to make college more affordable.
“From the federal perspective we need to make sure folks who have the need to get student loans and other financial aid are able to do so,” Davids said. “I’ve been supportive of expanding the Pell Grant I think that that’s a really important step to making things more affordable for folks…So many people know that there needs to be, of course, the Federal protections that exists, but also a bit more flexibility in terms of refinancing and making sure that folks are able to afford the student loan payments. It should not be the first thing that you’re thinking about when you graduate, or you get a certificate or some other credential that you have these student loans to pay because we want people to be doing what they’re going thrive in.”
Davids also pointed out the importance of quality early childhood education and what affects that can have on college students.
“Something I think is really important is also supporting early childhood education because there are plenty of studies that show if we make good investments in early childhood education the dividends when we get into high school and into college-age, the evidence is clear that that’s a really good investment for us to be making in our future,” Davids said.
Climate change is also an important topic to many college students. The Green New Deal has become a buzz word for many Gen-Z and millennial voters. Additionally, popular congressional resolution among climate change activists has become prevalent as well. Davids believes that the climate change crisis is something that we need to be talking more about and she has been taking steps to improve the climate situation the country is in.
“I haven’t signed on the green New Deal; I have signed on to a number of initiatives and bills like the 100% Clean Economy bill that has some real rock-solid initiatives and proposals for how we get to a clean economy,” Davids said. “I think here in Kansas we know certainly because of the wind potential that we’ve got in Kansas that we need to be supporting that move to renewables and not just for the companies, but also for our workforce.”
As an elected official, Davids knows how important the 2020 election is. For someone who’s role in Congress is to listen to what the people want, Davids believes in hearing what changes people what to see. For many that change is a reform for law enforcement.
“I had a lot of those conversations and got the chance to talk to folks from across the political spectrum,” Davids said. “I think that all of us want to see more trust amongst the community in law enforcement. Folks want to feel safe and that led me to support and co-sponsoring and then voting yes on the George Floyd justice in policing bill. This bill had some transparency and accountability measures in it that I think will help us get to that place of trust.”
For more information about Representative Davids’ platform, click here.
Amanda Adkins is the Republican candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Kansas third district against Rep. Davids. The Campus Ledger reached out to Adkins campaign managers but received no response.
According to Adkins’ campaign website, Adkins is an entrepreneur and has worked for the Kansas City-based company, Cerner, for the past fifteen years. Adkins also has a history in politics and the Republican Party.
“For the past 15 years, Amanda worked as an executive at Cerner Corporation, a global Kansas City based healthcare and information technology company,” Adkins’ website says. “As Vice President of Strategic Growth, Amanda worked with employers and healthcare providers to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. Amanda is the former chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party, where she achieved unprecedented election success while serving two terms from 2009-2013. Amanda led a “Clean Sweep” in the 2010 election cycle winning all Federal and statewide races. The KS GOP also increased their majority in the Kansas Legislature gaining 16 seats during this time.”
For information about Adkins and her point-of-view and policies, click here.