In 2018, Sharice Davids tapped moderate views and flipped the Kansas 3rd Congressional District into Democratic hands.

Davids, a mixed martial artist and first-generation college student, defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder. In doing so, she became the first LGBTQ Native American elected to Congress.

Now she’s running for a fourth term against Lenexa oncologist Dr. Prasanth Reddy to represent the Kansas suburbs.

Retaining the seat would further cement the increasingly purple district in Democratic hands.

Davids’ margin of victory increased in her previous reelection campaigns despite the redrawing of the district that added more Republicans.

The 3rd District includes all of Johnson, Miami, Franklin and Anderson counties, along with a portion of Wyandotte County. Libertarian candidate Steve Roberts also is on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Davids highlights her bipartisanship, noting the times that she sided with Republicans in Congress to accomplish shared goals. Capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors is one example.

“I’m happy to get the chance to tell folks about the bipartisan work that I’ve done, and not to just boost domestic manufacturing,” Davids said.

Reddy, who has drawn support from Republicans like U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, is running on his professional credentials as an oncologist, his role in the Air Force Reserve and a degree from the Harvard Business School.

Reddy was born in India and stresses he is a “legal immigrant.” He’s adopted some of the GOP’s tough talk about securing the U.S. southern border. He’s questioned the number of people allowed into the nation in recent years seeking asylum and supports building a wall across the nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

Reddy has broken in recent weeks from a conservative agenda, professing more moderate views on abortion.

“My patient’s wishes come first,” Reddy said in a recent campaign ad. “I respect the decision Kansas made on abortion over two years ago.”

Indeed, abortion is the issue that most differentiates this race from others.

Abortion

A Kansas Supreme Court decision in 2019 had ruled that protections to bodily autonomy included the right to terminate a pregnancy. 

In June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, throwing the issue of abortion back to the states.

Kansas became the first state to put the issue before voters after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision.

Faced with a constitutional amendment to challenge the state high court’s decision, voters kept access to abortion legal in Kansas by a 59% to 41% margin.

Two years later, Davids stood beside the CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes for a press conference denouncing efforts to undercut women’s reproductive health, including attempts to ban travel to states like Kansas to find care.

Conservatives had grown alarmed that Kansas had become a destination for women seeking abortions from other states such as Missouri, which is one of 13 states with a total ban on abortion.

“We’ve seen attack after attack on this right since Roe was overturned,” Davids said. “I don’t think any politician should be involved in this process, not at the state level or federal level.”

The question at the national level is whether GOP leadership will try to pass a federal ban through Congress, hopeful that a newly reelected Donald Trump would sign it into law.

If elected, Reddy said that he would not support a federal ban.

Reddy said that he also is opposed to federal funding for abortions.

As a doctor, Reddy said it is important to always begin with empathy, and that approach carries through to his views on abortion.

Reddy, on his campaign website, said that he is  “pro-life,” but strongly believes that any legislation banning abortion “must include exceptions for rape, incest, danger to the health of the mother, and fetal abnormalities inconsistent with life.”

“I am not for (a) national abortion ban,” he said during the only scheduled debate between the two candidates.

Reddy’s name appears on the Kansans for Life Political Action Committee endorsement list.

The economy

Concerns about the economy, jobs and housing costs top virtually every poll of voters.

“I can tell you people are worried,” Davids said. “When I hear the concerns of the constituents here at home, it is around how much things cost.”

People are concerned that their children will not have the same opportunities to succeed, she said. 

Davids often speaks of the district’s many ties to the nation’s infrastructure and supply chains, noting the Kansas City metropolitan area’s regional airports, freight rail and intermodal exchanges.

Davids said that she helped attract projects like the new Panasonic electric battery plant in De Soto, which promises to employ 4,000 people.

“We need to continue to focus on building more stuff here at home,” she said.

Reddy said that he would approach the nation’s employment needs through a free market, cutting regulation and supporting small businesses. He also targets soaring deficits.

“We have got to control spending,” Reddy said.

He said “broken fiscal policy” created the nation’s $35 trillion debt.

“We’ve got to be smart about our policy,” Reddy said. “So, of course, I want to work across the aisle to help move the interests of this district and move the interests of our nation forward.”

Immigration

Reddy regularly campaigns on immigration.

“Allowing 2 million people to come in across the border when we already have 11.5 million (undocumented immigrants) is not a near-term or a long-term solution,” he said.

The Center for Migration Studies said that the number of undocumented people in the U.S. was about 11.7 million in July 2023. It said that number peaked at 12 million in 2008.

The Pew Research Center estimated the number of people seeking entry by asking for asylum at the southern border peaked at nearly 250,000 in December 2023.

Since then, the numbers have plummeted, partly because of executive orders issued by the Biden administration. August 2024 saw about 58,000 encounters.

Davids said that Congress had a Senate bill earlier this year that could have solved many problems of the nation’s immigration system. Davids said it failed for “purely political reasons” so Trump could use immigration as a campaign issue.

“I was disappointed to see my opponent fall lockstep with him (Trump) on that because that was our first real opportunity to actually address this issue,” Davids said.

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