'She doesn’t share our values': Republican goes on attack after Sharice Davids victory

Thursday, August 9, 2018  

Republican Kevin Yoder is wasting little time attacking Democrat Sharice Davids after her historic primary win in Kansas.

Davids, a citizen of the Ho-Chunk Nation, is the first Native person to run for U.S. Congress in the state. She's also the first openly LGBT candidate to appear on a general election ballot.

But Yoder, whose chances at re-election have dimmed in recent weeks, claims his opponent has little connection to the 3rd Congressional District. He's trying to portray her as a recent arrival to Kansas even though Ho-Chunk ancestral territory extends to the region and her Winnebago relatives were forced to move to neighboring Iowa and Nebraska.

"Sharice Davids moved here a few months ago," Yoder wrote in a post on Twitter on Wednesday, after Davids secured victory. "She doesn’t share our values because she doesn’t even know what they are."

Of course my mom was there when I cast my ballot today. Because my mom has always been there.

I'm not crying. You're crying.

I'm overwhelmed by how far we've come. Can you help us finish strong on Aug 7 by chipping in now? We're so close. https://t.co/ksp7I9r4t3#TeamSharice pic.twitter.com/31XQwKnY9D

— Sharice Davids (@sharicedavids) August 2, 2018

He followed up with a thread on Thursday in which he claimed Davids is "out of touch with this district" and said she wants to raise taxes and open America's borders to more immigrants. His campaign also launched a new site, Stop Sharice. Stop Pelosi., in hopes of tying his opponent to Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), the Democratic leader in the House.

"The real Kevin Yoder is now showing who he really is. You are afraid of @sharicedavids," one user wrote in response.

"When @sharicedavids saw injustices occurring in the Native American communities she went to work to fight for those communities...when @RepKevinYoder saw kids getting locked in cages and separated from parents, he wrote a stern letter and did NOTHING," another observed.

The Kansas City Star, whose editorial board endorsed Davids in the primary, is also befuddled by the attacks, which Yoder previewed at his election celebration on Tuesday evening. The paper notes the irony of comparing an indigenous person to a new arrival before discussing her long ties to Kansas -- she grew up in Kansas, graduated from high school in Kansas and attended Haskell Indian Nations University and the University of Kansas.

"As a Native American, oh yes, Davids is very much from here," the paper's editorial board wrote. "As a graduate of Leavenworth High, where she lived until her single mom retired from the Army there, and of Johnson County Community College, yes, she is from around here."

"As someone who graduated from Cornell Law, was in private practice, worked on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and then was a White House fellow, she could have gone anywhere but chose to come back to Kansas," the editorial continued. "So yes, she is from around here."

But Kansans aren't the only ones paying attention. The independent, non-partisan Cook Political Report just downgraded the 3rd Congressional District from Republican-leaning to "Toss Up."

"Private polling on both sides has shown Yoder struggling all year. He joins the Toss Up column," the organization stated.

Read More on the Story:
After milestone win, Sharice Davids to test Dems’ strategy in key suburban district (The Kansas City Star / McClatchy August 8, 2018)
Sharice Davids Could Become First Lesbian Native American Congresswoman (The New York Times August 8, 2018)
Gay, Native American Democrat busts candidate mold in Kansas (The Associated Press August 8, 2018)

An Opinion:
Editorial: Rep. Kevin Yoder says Democratic rival Sharice Davids doesn’t have Kansas values. Huh? (The Kansas City Star August 8, 2018)

Another Native woman advances in historic year for Native candidates (August 8, 2018