Austin Davis (politician)

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.

Austin Davis
Davis in 2022
35th Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
Incumbent
Assumed office January 17, 2023
Governor	Josh Shapiro
Preceded by	Kim Ward (acting)
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	Blayre Holmes ​ (m. 2017)​
Children	1
Education	University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg (BA)

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, 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

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

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

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

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

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	Josh Shapiro Austin Davis	3,031,137	56.49
	Republican	Doug Mastriano Carrie DelRosso	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

• List of minority governors and lieutenant governors in the United States

References

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. 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. "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. November 9, 2022. 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.

External links

• Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis Archived November 9, 2022, at the Wayback Machine official government website
• Austin Davis for Lieutenant Governor campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Preceded by Marc Gergely	Member from the 35th district 2018–2022	Succeeded by Matt Gergely
Party political offices
Preceded by John Fetterman	Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania 2022	Most recent
Political offices
Preceded by Kim Ward Acting	Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania 2023–present	Incumbent