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Austin Davis (politician)

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Austin Davis
Davis in 2022
35th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 17, 2023
GovernorJosh Shapiro
Preceded byKim Ward (acting)
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 35th district
In office
February 5, 2018 – December 7, 2022
Preceded byMarc Gergely
Succeeded byMatt Gergely
Personal details
Born
Austin Ankarie Davis

(1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 35)
McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Blayre Holmes
​
(m. 2017)​
Children1
EducationUniversity of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (BA)

Austin Davis (born October 4, 1989) is an American politician who is the 35th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, since 2023. Prior to that, he served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 35th district from 2018 to 2022. He is both the first African American lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and the youngest person to be elected lieutenant governor in the United States.

Early life and education

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Davis was born October 4, 1989, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He attended McKeesport Area High School, where he founded and served as chairman of the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council under then McKeesport, Pennsylvania mayor James Brewster.[1]

After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, where he earned a BA in political science in 2012.[2][3]

Career

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While in college, Davis was hired as a legislative intern by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In a February 2011 article on Black History Month, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review highlighted him as "a veteran at the politics of helping others."[4]

Davis previously served as executive assistant to Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald. In 2014, Davis became the youngest and the first black vice chair at the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.[5]

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

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Davis in 2021

Davis ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 35th district in a 2018 special election.[6][7] Davis defeated Republican candidate Fawn Walker-Montgomery with over 73% of the vote and became the first African American to serve as State Representative for the district.[8]

Committee assignments

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(2021–2022)

  • Appropriations[9]
  • Consumer Affairs[9]
  • Insurance[9]
  • Transportation[9]

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

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Election

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Main article: 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
Davis' 2022 logo for his campaign for Pennsylvania lieutenant governor

On December 14, 2021, it was reported that Davis would enter the 2022 race for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania, after being selected by presumptive Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro to be his running mate.[10] Pennsylvania law requires that a lieutenant gubernatorial candidate must run independent of the gubernatorial candidate in the primary.

On November 8, 2022, Shapiro and Davis handily defeated the Republican ticket of Doug Mastriano and Carrie DelRosso in the general election.[11] Davis became the first African American to be elected lieutenant governor and the first millennial to win statewide office in Pennsylvania.[12]

Tenure

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Upon his swearing in at age 33, Davis became the youngest lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania history.[13] He is also the youngest current lieutenant governor in the United States.[14] In 2024, Davis was chosen as the chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.[15]

Personal life

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Davis met his wife, Blayre Holmes, at the August Wilson Center in 2012. The two were married on September 1, 2017. They live in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.[16] The couple had their first child, a daughter, in September of 2023.[17]

Davis has served on the board of directors of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh,[18] The Consortium for Public Education, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh,[19] Auberle, Adonai Center for Black Males, Small Seeds Development, and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School.[5]

Electoral history

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2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives special election, District 35[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis 3,209 73.69
Republican Fawn Walker-Montgomery 1,129 25.92
Write-in 17 0.39
Total votes 4,355 100.00
2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 35[21]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis 15,165 96.73
Write-in 513 3.27
Total votes 15,678 100.00
2020 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 35[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis (incumbent) 21,327 92.52
Write-in 1,725 7.48
Total votes 23,052 100.00
2022 Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial Democratic primary election[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis 768,141 63.00
Democratic Brian Sims 305,959 25.09
Democratic Raymond L. Sosa 145,228 11.91
Total votes 1,219,328 100.00
2022 Pennsylvania House of Representatives election, District 35[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis 15,241 65.90
Republican Don Nevills 7,817 33.80
Write-in 71 0.31
Total votes 23,129 100.00
2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic
3,031,137 56.49
Republican
2,238,477 41.71
Libertarian
  • Matt Hackenburg
  • Tim McMaster
 51,611 0.96
Green
  • Christina DiGiulio
  • Michael Bagdes-Canning
 24,436 0.46
Keystone
  • Joe Soloski
  • Nicole Shultz
 20,518 0.38
Total votes 5,366,179 100.00

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bowling, Brian (September 27, 2007). "East Young Achiever: Austin Davis". TribLIVE.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  2. ^ "Past Alumnus of Distinction Awardees". Alumnus of Distinction Award. Greensburg, PA: University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  3. ^ "Member Biography, Austin Davis". Members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 2022. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  4. ^ DiVittorio, Michael (February 7, 2011). "BLACK HISTORY MONTH: At 21, Davis is a veteran at the politics of helping others". TribLIVE.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Daniels, Melissa (November 26, 2014). "Davis becomes 1st African-American to be named vice chair of Allegheny County Democratic Committee". TribLIVE.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Democrat wins special election for state House seat in Western Pa". York Daily Record. January 23, 2018. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Democrat Davis wins Pa. House's 35th District to fill Gergely's seat". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 23, 2018. Archived from the original on January 24, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  8. ^ "January 23, 2018 Special Election Results". Allegheny County. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d "Representative Austin A. Davis". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  10. ^ Caruso, Stephen (December 14, 2021). "W.Pa. Rep. Austin Davis to enter Pa. Lt. Gov race with Dem Josh Shapiro's backing". Pennsylvania Capital-Star. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  11. ^ "Democrat Josh Shapiro defeats Republican Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania governor's race". NBC News. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  12. ^ "Meet the history-makers of the 2022 midterm elections | CNN Politics". CNN. November 9, 2022.
  13. ^ "Who is the new Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania?". January 17, 2023.
  14. ^ Urie, Daniel (May 6, 2023). "Pa. lieutenant governor announces wife's pregnancy". PennLive Patriot-News. Advance Local Media LLC. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Ulrich, Steve (December 3, 2024). "Davis Elected Chair of Democratic Lt. Governors Association". PoliticsPA. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "Lt. Governor Austin Davis | Lt Governor | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania". www.pa.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  17. ^ Johnson, Kayleigh (September 4, 2023). "Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and wife Blayre welcome baby girl to the world". WPMT-TV. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  18. ^ "Meet Pittsburgh YMCA Leadership and Staff". www.pittsburghymca.org. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "Board - Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh - Allegheny County". cispac.org. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  20. ^ "REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 35TH DISTRICT". Allegheny County, PA January 23, 2018 Special Election. www.scytl.com. March 5, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 35TH DISTRICT". Allegheny County, PA November 6, 2018 General Election. www.scytl.com. November 26, 2018. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY 35TH DISTRICT". Allegheny County, PA November 3, 2020 General Election. scytl.us. November 25, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  23. ^ "2022 General Primary Tuesday, May 17, 2022 Official Returns Statewide". electionreturns.pa.gov. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  24. ^ "REPRESENTATIVE IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 35". Allegheny County, PA November 8, 2022 General Election. scytl.us. December 12, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
  25. ^ "2022 General Election". Pennsylvania Elections - Summary Results. Pennsylvania Department of State. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Austin Davis (politician).
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Member from the 35th district
2018–2022 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
2022 		Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by
Kim Ward
Acting
 Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
2023–present 		Incumbent
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