Sharice Davids won Tuesday’s Democratic House primary in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District and will face incumbent GOP Rep. Kevin Yoder in November.
Davids, a former fellow in the Barack Obama White House, jockeyed for a victory over five other candidates in the running in a crowded Democratic primary, taking 37.3 percent of the vote.
As the Democratic party nominee, she becomes Kansas’ first Native American and openly gay nominee for Congress.
Davids has a tough race ahead of her against Yoder, a race in which Democrats are afraid their candidate’s lack of name recognition could potentially suffer against the Republican incumbent, who raised significant cash and attracted the attention of several national political figures.
Yoder easily won Tuesday’s primary, collecting 65.8 percent of the vote.
Trump tweeted his endorsement of Yoder on July 18, noting his work on border security and crime.
Thank you to Congressman Kevin Yoder! He secured $5 BILLION for Border Security. Now we need Congress to support. Kevin has been strong on Crime, the Border, the 2nd Amendment, and he loves our Military and Vets. @RepKevinYoder has my full and total endorsement!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2018
Vice President Mike Pence also appeared at a fundraising event for Yoder earlier in July.
Yoder’s successful grassroots, face-to-face campaign style is reportedly going to be the blueprint the Republican party in the 2020 election cycle. (RELATED: How One Congressman Is Changing Grassroots Campaigning Forever)
Davids edged out five other candidates, including labor lawyer and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders backed Brent Welder, Tom Niermann, a high school history teacher backed by local elected officials, Mike McCamon, a former tech executive, Jay Sidie, the 2016 Democratic nominee for the seat and Sylvia D. Williams, a banker.
Yoder raised over $2.7 million during his campaign. The next highest was Welder, who raised about $734,000, according to recent campaign finance data.
Despite a presidential endorsement and a large amount of cash on hand for Yoder, the enthusiasm and sheer number of candidates running on the Democrats’ side signals a potential problem for Yoder in November.
“Republicans are losing in races where they outspent absolute nobodies by incredible margins. Yoder can’t afford to take the re-election for granted,” University of Kansas political science professor Patrick Miller told CNBC.
Another potential area of concern for Republicans is the fact that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton narrowly edged out Trump in Yoder’s district in 2016, taking 47.2 percent of the vote compared to Trump’s 46 percent.
Email tips to hanna@
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.