--- title: First Native Women Elected to Congress in Kansas, New Mexico description: Sharice Davids in Kansas and Deb Haaland in New Mexico became the first Native American women ever elected to Congress on Tuesday canonical: https://time.com/5446593/sharice-davids-deb-haaland-first-native-american-woman-congress/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-11-07T03:37:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-12T16:37:29.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats in Kansas, New Mexico Become First Native American Women Elected to Congress og:description: "I never imagined a world where I would be represented by someone who looks like me" og:url: https://time.com/5446593/sharice-davids-deb-haaland-first-native-american-woman-congress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a661deb9fcbc745/69893e6e7cdbac5319d5e600/sharice-davids-first-native-american-woman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6075 og:image:height: 3417 og:image:alt: Kansas Congressional Candidate Sharice Davids Holds Rally In Overland Park, Kansas og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats in Kansas, New Mexico Become First Native American Women Elected to Congress twitter:description: "I never imagined a world where I would be represented by someone who looks like me" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0a661deb9fcbc745/69893e6e7cdbac5319d5e600/sharice-davids-first-native-american-woman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrats in Kansas, New Mexico Become First Native American Women Elected to Congress > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Sharice Davids to Become First Gay Native American Woman Elected to the House [Watch (HLS stream): Sharice Davids to Become First Gay Native American Woman Elected to the House](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kYOvxx8P.m3u8) (1:13)  _Published 2018-11-07. Democrat Sharice Davids, a member of Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation tribe, defeated four-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder in Kansas on Tuesday_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 12, 2023 4:37 PM UTCPublished: Nov 7, 2018 3:37 AM UTC  Democratic candidate for Kansas's 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, is greeted by supporters during a rally at a field office on Nov. 5, 2018 in Overland Park, Kansas. Democratic candidate for Kansas's 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, is greeted by supporters during a rally at a field office on Nov. 5, 2018 in Overland Park, Kansas. Whitney Curtis/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Updated: Dec 12, 2023 4:37 PM UTCPublished: Nov 7, 2018 3:37 AM UTC Democrat Sharice Davids, a member of Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation tribe, defeated four-term Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder in Kansas on Tuesday. Hours later, Democrat [Deb Haaland,](http://time.com/5304507/deb-haaland-first-native-american-congresswoman/) a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe running in New Mexico’s solidly Democratic First Congressional District, also won her election. Together, they became the first Native American women ever elected to Congress — a historic achievement centuries in the making. “Seventy years ago, Native Americans right here in New Mexico couldn’t vote,” Haaland told supporters at a rally Tuesday night. “Growing up in my mother’s pueblo household and as a 35th generation New Mexican, I never imagined a world where I would be represented by someone who looks like me. Tonight, New Mexico, you are sending one of the very first Native American women to Congress.” Yoder, who has represented Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District since 2011, was re-elected in 2016 with 51.3% percent of the vote. But Davids was leading polls [by as much as a 12-point margin](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2018/house/ks/kansas%5F3rd%5Fdistrict%5Fyoder%5Fvs%5Fdavids-6653.html) in the run-up to Election Day. The historic victory for Davids, a lesbian, also makes her the first openly LGBT person to represent Kansas in Congress. But for both Davids and Haaland, the achievement comes with a sobering reminder of how long the achievement took. “It really is pretty amazing that it has taken this long,” says Jean Schroedel, a political science professor at Claremont Graduate University who studies Native American voting rights. “There certainly are a good number of states where the Native population is a substantial portion of the population.” Native Americans have long faced [significant barriers to voting.](https://www.narf.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2017NAVRCsurvey-summary.pdf) They were only granted the right to vote in New Mexico in 1962, making it [the last state to enfranchise Native Americans](https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/voting-rights-native-americans.html), almost 40 years after they were granted U.S. citizenship. And in several states, including [North Dakota](http://time.com/5442434/north-dakota-voting-law-native-american-activism/) and Utah, voting rights advocates have voiced concerns about rules that have disproportionately affected access for Native Americans this year. Discussing the historic nature of her candidacy, Haaland has pointed to the Native American women who came before her, referencing those who previously ran for a seat in the U.S. House — Ada Deer in Wisconsin in 1992, Kalyn Free in Oklahoma in 2004, Denise Juneau in Montana in 2016. “It is such a historic time for native women. Her winning tonight will break the glass ceiling for future generations, for future young native women and girls,” says Mellor Willie, co-founder of [7Gen Leaders](https://7genleaders.com/), a Super PAC launched this year that aims to get Native Americans elected. The group supported the campaigns of both Davids and Haaland. Willie says he’s hopeful they will advocate for issues that disproportionately affect Native Americans, including the [high rate of violence and sexual assault](https://www.apnews.com/cb6efc4ec93e4e92900ec99ccbcb7e05) against Native American women. “It’s great that we will finally have Native women who can articulate those stories and that passion directly to the House of Representatives,” he says. There are currently only two Native American members of Congress, Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole and Oklahoma Rep. Markwayne Mullin, both Republicans But much of the excitement behind Haaland’s candidacy came from her progressive platform. Haaland campaigned on environmental issues, vowing to support regulations that combat climate change and fight to preserve public lands. She made affordable health care a central tenet of her platform. And she was one of the first Democratic candidates to call for the [abolishment of Immigration and Customs and Enforcement](http://time.com/5325492/abolish-ice-history/) (ICE). “She will bring a very, very different voice than what’s been heard before within Congress. The two members of the House who are in there right now, they are very conservative,” says Schroedel, the Claremont Graduate University professor. “She is on the liberal end of the Democratic Party. That’s going to be a hugely different voice.” Their victories come during an election year that has seen record numbers of women and [Native Americans running for office](https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/09/04/mark-trahant-more-native-women-are-runni.asp), according to Mark Trahant, editor of the news site [Indian Country Today](https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/) who has tracked Native American candidates for years. Schroedel sees the election as linked to a concerted get-out-the-vote effort and growing activism on reservations, mobilized by the [2016 protests at Standing Rock](http://time.com/4548566/dakota-access-pipeline-standing-rock-sioux/) over the [Dakota Access Pipeline](http://time.com/4486420/dakota-access-pipeline-keystone/) and the broader women’s march protests across the country. “This is just part of a movement,” she says. “You have the impact of Standing Rock, but you also have the impact of women’s anger with the President.” “This is different. This is cross-tribal,” she says. “There is a change, and I don’t think it can be changed back.” ## Transcript It's, the core of this campaign has been about trying to figure out ways to make sure that as many voices and experiences as possible, that we have in this community, are being heard by our elected representatives. And we have to make sure I have to make sure my job as the soon to be representative of the third district. [ APPLAUSE ] Is to make sure that it doesn't matter if you cast your vote for me or you cast your vote for Kevin Yoder. Come January, I see every single person, [ APPLAUSE ] And listen to every single person, [ APPLAUSE ] Because I wanna make sure that we all feel represented. That is so important. 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