Representative Sharice Davids: ‘Kansas has a clear choice this election. I’ve stood up for Kansas and worked across the aisle to bring jobs and economic opportunity back to our district’

With less than 30 days to the election, Representative Sharice Davids penned an op-ed for the Kansas City Star summing up why she is the best choice to represent the Kansas Third District. Rep. Davids detailed how listening to her constituents informs her approach to legislating, and how she tackles real issues by working across the aisle to move Kansas forward. 

By highlighting her record of bipartisan success, Rep. Davids makes the choice in this election clear. Longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins has a history of supporting divisive policies including “absolutely” endorsing a controversial manifesto that aims to slash Medicare, limit Social Security, and ban abortion nationwide with no exceptions.

Read more here or key quotes below:

• “I’ve taken the approach of putting people over politics throughout my time serving Kansas’ 3rd District, and it shows. In a time marked by division and partisan rhetoric, I’ve stayed focused on the issues that I hear about most from our community.”
   
• “… I’m not afraid to stand up to those in my own party when it’s right for Kansas. When I had a mom calling my office to say she was spending so much on gas that she couldn’t contribute to her son’s college fund anymore, I called on the president to take immediate action and suspend the federal gas tax. People in my party disagreed, but I know we have to do everything possible to help folks get through these extraordinary times.”
   
• “This is how we keep Kansas moving forward at a time when some politicians seem more interested in pursuing election conspiracies than policymaking. It’s how we continue our recovery from the Sam Brownback era that bankrupted our state. And it’s how we continue to fight against extremism, even when it comes to our front door.”
   
• “Conversely, my opponent and a longtime adviser to Sam Brownback, Amanda Adkins, thinks good policy is slashing Social Security, putting women in danger by banning abortion without exception and criminalizing doctors — not to mention that she helped put our state in the Brownback budget hole in the first place.”

SHAWNEE, KS – Today, Representative Sharice Davids participated in a candidate forum hosted by the Johnson County NAACP, Mainstream Coalition, the Johnson County League of Women Voters, MORE2, and the Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County. She spoke with voters and answered questions about her work on the economy and her position on voting rights and the right to choose. 

“It’s always great to get out and talk with folks in our community about the issues that matter most to them, from my work to lower costs to protecting free and fair elections,” said Davids. “Today I heard a lot of concern about our rights: both the right to vote and our reproductive rights. I’m the only candidate who is working to protect both.”

Rep. Davids has long advocated to keep politicians out of Kansans’ health care decisions, including by opposing the anti-choice amendment in August. Conversely, Republican candidate and longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins is an anti-abortion extremist with a lengthy history of working to strip away reproductive rights—a position that puts her at odds with Third District voters. 

At today’s event, Rep. Davids also shared her record of working with anyone – Republican or Democrat – to get things done for Kansas. She spoke about her work to lower costs by making investments in our infrastructure and supply chain, boosting domestic manufacturing, and capping the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.

Sharice for Congress Ad Highlights Real-Life Dangers of Adkins’ Extreme Anti-Choice Agenda

This weekend, Sharice for Congress released a new ad, “Duty,” featuring Dr. Kristi Weaver, a practicing OB/GYN in Overland Park. Dr. Weaver shares how Amanda Adkins’ support of extreme abortion bans with no exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or for the health of the mother would endanger Kansas women like her patients.

Watch “Duty” here:

“I have been an OB/GYN for over 10 years. It is my duty to care for my patients and keep them from harm. So when I hear Amanda Adkins say that she absolutely supports banning all abortions with no exceptions, it makes me wonder how I am going to be able to take care of my patients,” Dr. Weaver says in the ad.

Adkins, a self-proclaimed “pro-life advocate,” endorsed a far-right manifesto that would put forth a nationwide total abortion ban from five to seven weeks of gestation. The proposal that she supports would also ban abortion without exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother and send doctors to prison for doing their jobs. Adkins, who vocally supported the anti-choice constitutional amendment in August, is also endorsed by extremist groups who said a 10-year-old rape victim should be forced to have the baby.

Meanwhile, Rep. Davids joined over 67 percent of voters in the Kansas Third in rejecting the extreme anti-abortion amendment and in Congress, she has voted to codify Roe and keep politicians out of Kansans’ health care decisions. 

Representative Sharice Davids Announces Participation in Two Debates, Consistent with Previous Campaign Cycle

Today, Sharice for Congress announced that Representative Sharice Davids has accepted invitations for two general election debates and is eager to share her work on important issues like lowering costs, growing our economy, and protecting Kansans’ rights.

“Representative Davids looks forward to participating in the debates this fall and making clear the choice voters have this November between Rep. Davids’ record of working across the aisle to lower costs and protect Kansans’ rights, and Amanda Adkins’ extreme agenda aimed at banning abortion and slashing Social Security,” said Ellie Turner, spokesperson for Sharice for Congress. 

Davids’ campaign accepted invitations for the Shawnee Mission Post debate on Friday, October 21, co-hosted and broadcast by KCUR and Kansas City Public Television, and the 4 Star Politics debate on Tuesday, October 25, broadcast by FOX4 Kansas City.

New Ad Slams Adkins’ Extreme Abortion Positions
On Saturday, NBC News reported on a new ad in the Kansas Third Congressional race highlighting longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins’ support for extreme abortion policies, from her time as chair of the Kansas Republican Party pushing for a “Human Life Amendment” that would ban abortions without exceptions for rape or incest, to her recent support for a controversial budget plan that “contains a proposed federal abortion ban” that would send doctors to prison.

Read more from NBC News:

“Davids’ six-figure ad, shared in advance with NBC News, targets Adkins for saying earlier this year that she was “100%” in favor of the proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would have removed language enshrining abortion rights there. 

That amendment failed in August with nearly 60% of voters casting ballots against it — a vote that has influenced the conversation around abortion rights nationally in the weeks since.

The ad, which airs on broadcast, cable and satellite TV, also highlights Adkins’ support for the proposed Republican Study Committee’s fiscal year 2023 budget. Adkins framed her support for the plan around its budget-reduction measures, but the proposal also contains a proposed federal abortion ban that would begin when a fetal heartbeat is first detected — generally between five and seven weeks.

The ad links Adkins’ being endorsed by the anti-abortion rights group Kansans for Life with comments made by a National Right to Life official — the group’s parent organization — in which he said a 10-year-old should carry a pregnancy to term.

[…]”

Read the full article here.

Today, longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins called herself a “policy-driven” candidate. Adkins’ policy ideas include a controversial budget plan that would cut Medicare and Social Security, slash early childhood education, ban abortion without exceptions, and send doctors to prison. 

After saying she would “absolutely” support the 122-page plan released by Congressional Republicans earlier this year, Adkins put it on her website, calling it a “very solid” document. Included in it are bills to:

• Slash trillions from Medicare
• Raise the retirement age for Social Security to 69
• Ban abortion without exceptions for rape, incest, or life of the mother
• Halt government efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs
• End the Head Start program for low-income preschoolers
• Cut federal spending on crop insurance
• Roll back climate change initiatives and gun safety laws
• And much, much more

“Kansans should know that when Amanda Adkins says she is policy driven, those policies include cutting Social Security, ending Medicare as we know it, and banning abortion without exception. Don’t take my word for it—just look at the plan she said she ‘absolutely’ supports,” said Ellie Turner, spokesperson for Sharice for Congress.

This week, longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins doubled down on her endorsement of a controversial budget plan that would cut Medicare and Social Security, slash early childhood education, ban abortion without exceptions, and send doctors to prison—even as other Republican candidates shy away from its “political vulnerabilities.”

• In an email to supporters, Adkins again confirmed her support for the drastic cuts that would make millions of Kansas seniors wait longer for their hard earned benefits and end Medicare as we know it, calling it “a very solid budget.”
   
• In a radio interview, Adkins reiterated that she wants to end early childhood programs like Head Start, which thousands of families in Kansas rely on for affordable child care—continuing her record from Sam Brownback’s administration, where she oversaw a 75% cut in early education funding.
   
• But when asked why Adkins supports this platform, which includes a total ban on abortion without exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of the mother—she had nothing to say for herself.

Nothing new here…the Kansas Reflector reported how Adkins’ support of this plan is similar to her support of the “philosophy of governing advanced in Kansas when Sam Brownback was governor from 2011 to 2018.” Adkins stood with Brownback for decades as he “tanked” Kansas’ budget, schools and social services to pay for corporate tax giveaways.

“Amanda Adkins’ vision for Kansas is a nightmare for seniors, women, and families. She wants to cut your Social Security to pay for her corporate tax giveaways—but Kansas has been through this Adkins-Brownback agenda before, and we are not doing it again,” said Ellie Turner, spokesperson for Sharice for Congress.

Kansas Reflector: ‘Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins embraced a U.S. House GOP group’s manifesto for balancing the federal budget that would slash trillions from Medicare, raise the full retirement age for Social Security and end Head Start for low-income preschoolers.’

Today, the Kansas Reflector released a shocking report detailing longtime Brownback advisor Amanda Adkins’ ‘absolute’ support of the Republican Study Committee’s controversial budget plan. The proposal—which Adkins “embraced”— attacks Medicare and Social Security, slashes education, bans abortion and criminalizes doctors for delivering reproductive care, to name a few. 

The Kansas Reflector noted how Adkins’ support of the plan is similar to her support of the “philosophy of governing advanced in Kansas when Sam Brownback was governor from 2011 to 2018.” Adkins stood with Brownback while he “tanked” Kansas’ budget, schools and social services to pay for corporate tax giveaways.

Adkins’ support of the manifesto shows how out-of-touch she is with the Kansas Third District. Here’s what’s in it: 

• Slash trillions from Medicare
• Raise the retirement age for Social Security to 69
• Ban abortion at five to seven weeks of gestation
• Halt government efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs
• End the Head Start program for low-income preschoolers
• Cut federal spending on crop insurance
• Roll back climate change initiatives and gun safety laws
• And much, much more

Read more from the Kansas Reflector here or below:

“Republican congressional candidate Amanda Adkins embraced a U.S. House GOP group’s manifesto for balancing the federal budget that would slash trillions from Medicare, raise the full retirement age for Social Security and end Head Start for low-income preschoolers.

Other provisions of the plan would halt government efforts to lower prescription drug prices, make sweeping reductions in federal regulations and forbid intrusion into businesses and schools of the type adopted in the COVID-19 pandemic. The package would hit agriculture by cutting federal spending on crop insurance, block new enrollment in the conservation reserve program and dissolve a longstanding urban-rural voting coalition by separating nutrition programs from agriculture programs in farm bills.

Another cut: The bipartisan international education and food program named for U.S. Sens. Bob Dole and George McGovern to reduce hunger and improve literacy, especially for girls.

[…]

The “Save America” portfolio would limit abortion access, roll back climate change initiatives, lower barriers to carrying concealed guns, crack down on transgender rights and eliminate an agency protecting rights of workers.

[…]

‘This is the Adkins-Brownback agenda gone national,’ Turner [spokesperson for Davids’ campaign] said. ‘She wants to gut your hard-earned Medicare and Social Security benefits, enact a federal abortion ban without exceptions and revive corporate tax giveaways like those that left Kansas families, schools and infrastructure in the ditch.’

[…]

… The Republican plan featured 23 anti-abortion policies, including a federal ban on abortion at five to seven weeks of gestation… Davids, in response to introduction Tuesday of a national 15-week abortion ban bill by U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, said the South Carolina Republican affirmed ‘extreme politicians have been looking for an opportunity to strip away our right to choose through a total ban on abortion, and without Roe, they have one.’

‘We should believe people when they show us who they are,’ Davids said. ‘Amanda Adkins has shown time and again that she will not stand up against these extreme policies — in fact, the bans she has supported go even further.’”

Rep. Sharice Davids released the following statement after U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a national abortion ban bill:

“This is not hyperbole or hypothetical anymore. Extreme politicians have been looking for an opportunity to strip away our right to choose through a total ban on abortion, and without Roe, they have one.

We should believe people when they show us who they are. Amanda Adkins has shown time and again that she will not stand up against these extreme policies—in fact, the bans she has supported go even further. She’s dangerously out of step with the Kansas Third and now, the threat to our rights is more real than ever.”

Today, the Kansas City Star detailed Amanda Adkins’ close ties to disgraced former governor Sam Brownback—and how that serves as a “weight around the ankles” of her campaign in a district where just 25% of voters view Brownback favorably.

The Star reported that Adkins’ long history with Brownback—including working for him in the U.S. Senate, managing his campaign, championing his disastrous governorship as Chair of the Kansas Republican Party, and being appointed to his Children’s Cabinet—could spell trouble in a state where “Brownback remains extremely unpopular.”

Adkins’ stood by Brownback while his tax experiment “tanked” Kansas’ economy, calling him an “incredible governor.” The Star reports how the Adkins-Brownback agenda had “a more personal impact than national policies” and the former Governor “isn’t exactly disappearing from public view” on issues like abortion, complicating Adkins’ attempts to mask her extreme anti-choice record.

Read more from the Kansas City Star here or below: 

“Since Brownback launched his tax experiment in 2012 and the experiment went south — draining funding needed for schools, infrastructure and local services — his name has served as a weight around the ankles of Republicans… 

[…]

Still, his reputation lingers. Democratic polling in June found that Brownback remains extremely unpopular, with only 25% of voters in the 3rd Congressional District viewing him favorably. His unfavorable numbers were much lower than former President Donald Trump, who 43% of voters saw favorably.

[…]

‘For almost two decades, Amanda Adkins shaped, supported, and celebrated Sam Brownback’s disastrous policies, working at his side even when it meant Kansas kids suffered,’ said Ellie Turner, Davids’ spokeswoman. ‘A record like that is not something you can brush off, especially when Kansans are still recovering from the harm Brownback and his allies did to our state.’

[…]

Adkins served as a campaign manager for Brownback’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign and was the chairwoman of the Kansas Republican Party when Brownback was elected governor. He appointed her to the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund. 

[…]

Under the tax cuts implemented from Brownback, the state faced massive funding shortfalls, making it difficult to fund the state programs voters feel in their everyday lives. Eventually, the Republican-controlled legislature stepped in to eliminate Brownback’s tax cuts, using a supermajority to override his veto. Brownback has insisted that his program just needed more time to work. Because Brownback’s policies affected the state budget, they may have had a more personal impact than national policies, which often take years to be felt by the average voter. 

[…]

But Brownback isn’t exactly disappearing from public view. In a recent speech, Brownback compared voters rejecting an amendment to the Kansas constitution that would have eliminated the right to abortion to the first battle of the Civil War, reigniting an issue that Republicans like Schmidt and Adkins have preferred to leave untouched.”