Austin Davis (politician)

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Austin Davis
File:AustinDavis.jpg
Davis in 2022
35th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Assumed office
January 17, 2023
Governor Josh Shapiro
Preceded by John Fetterman
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 35th district
In office
February 5, 2018 – December 7, 2022
Preceded by Marc Gergely
Succeeded by Matt Gergely
Personal details
Born Austin Ankarie Davis
(1989-10-04) October 4, 1989 (age 35)
McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Blayre Holmes (m. 2017)
Children 1
Education University 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

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

While in college, Austin was hired as a legislative intern by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In an 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

File:Gov. Wolf Discusses Vaccine Equity and Progress on Visit to McKeesport Vaccination Clinic - 51101482197.jpg
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

(2021–2022)

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

Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania

Election

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Main article: 2022 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election
File:Austin Davis 2022 Lt Governor logo.png
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

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]

Personal life

Davis met his wife, Blayre Holmes, at the August Wilson Center in 2012. The two were married on September 1, 2017. They live in his lifelong hometown of McKeesport, Pennsylvania.[citation needed] The couple had their first child, a daughter, in September of 2023.[15]

Davis has served on the board of directors of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh,[16] The Consortium for Public Education, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh,[17] Auberle, Adonai Center for Black Males, Small Seeds Development, and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School.[5]

Electoral history

2018 Pennsylvania House of Representatives special election, District 35[18]
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[19]
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[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Austin Davis 21,327 92.52
Write-in 1,725 7.48
Total votes 23,052 100.00
2022 Pennsylvania lieutenant gubernatorial Democratic primary election[21]
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[22]
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[23]
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

References

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External links

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 35th district
2018–2022		 Succeeded by
Matt Gergely
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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