JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. — This election, voters in Kansas will pick who represents them in Washington D.C. in the Kansas' 3rd Congressional District.
Democratic incumbent Sharice Davids is running for a fourth term in office.
Republican Prasanth Reddy wants to upset the seat. A profile on his campaign can be found here.
Kansans have gotten to know Davids over the last six years, but her resume ranges from infrastructure deals to defender of abortion rights.
Davids has worked extensively on economic development among the Native American tribes and community, which led her to being the second Native American woman to hold a seat in Congress.
Some of her achievements in office have been capping insulin costs and pushing the Inflation Reduction Act through Congress.
KSHB 41 News reporter Isabella Ledonne spoke with Davids ahead of the Nov. 5 election regarding Kansas' cost of living, her thoughts on the border crisis and fentanyl, healthcare costs and abortion rights.
Cost of living and the economy
Davids has served Kansas' 3rd district in the nation's capital since 2019. In that time, voters say things have gotten more expensive. Davids says she's worked to combat that.
"Some of the key provisions I was most proud of were things like the $35 cap a month for folks on medicare on insulin," Davids said. "Insulin is something so many people depend on."
Building up Kansas' roads and supply chain is Davids' key to bringing down every day costs.
"If it takes longer for ships to be able to unload their materials and get them onto railroads, then make their way out to Kansas City, that's going to raise prices," Davids said. "If we're not investing in the infrastructure systems it makes [food] more expensive."
Fentanyl crisis in Kansas
Fentanyl has affected many communities in Kansas. It's an issue Davids has stated is a critical priority.
"That's why I voted for more border patrol agents," Davids said in a recent campaign ad.
Davids' stance on immigration strays from many within her own party who don't support funding border security measures.
"We can secure our border and treat people with dignity and respect and in a humane way," Davids said. "We can also put efforts into things like technologies and people power that we need to stop fentanyl."
The border crisis has sparked debate on both sides of the aisle. Davids explained much of federal lawmaker's inaction stems from a lack of productive discussion.
"It has been very clear since I started this job six years ago that our immigration system is broken," Davids said. "We have failed to see Congress actually take this up and actually have meaningful legislation and conversations about it."
But Davids says it's an issue she's tried to make headway on.
"I pushed the leadership in the house to bring that up so we could actually have that conversation," Davids said. "It's something we need to address."
Healthcare and abortion in Kansas
In the last five years, Davids says she has focused on the affordability and accessibility of healthcare.
At the same time, abortion rights continue to be a highly contested topic in Kansas and the nation.
"I will always fight to make sure that we don't have politicians interfering in our healthcare decisions, reproductive healthcare or otherwise," Davids said.
Representative Davids hopes some of her proposed legislation on bringing down healthcare and childcare costs in Kansas makes it into law, and that she can continue to serve Kansas' 3rd District.
"I want people to know that I'm a put my head down and get to work kind of person," Representative Davids said.
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KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.