U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids’ decision to skip a Johnson County Post candidate forum — a decision that has now contributed to cancellation of the event altogether — is renewing questions about how often the four-term congresswoman subjects herself to questions in front of an open, live audience.
Davids lack of availability to general audiences in her district is reminiscent of her 2024 campaign, when she decline numerous public appearance forums.
The Johnson County Post reported last week Davids declined its invitation to participate in an Oct. 13 forum with Republican challenger Eric Jenkins and Libertarian Steve Hohe.
Jenkins initially agreed to participate even without Davids. But according to a subsequent Post announcement Friday, his campaign reversed course and said he would no longer participate if Davids was absent, prompting the publication to cancel the congressional forum.
Davids’ campaign gave the Post little explanation for declining, and didn’t respond to emails from the Kansas Informer
“We’ve decided to pass on this opportunity,” a Davids campaign spokesman told the newspaper. When Post editor Kyle Palmer pressed for a reason, the campaign responded that after considering the format and Davids’ schedule, “we’ve given the format some thought and, after looking at the next couple [of] months, decided this was the right call for us.”
The move is reminiscent of Davids’ 2024 campaign, when she refused to appear at the Johson County NAACP forum, and also no-showed a forum in Ottawa – one of the rural outliers in Davids’ mostly urban and suburban district rooted in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. She opted not to appear after her campaign demanded and was granted certain concessions from the Ottawa organizers, such as not appearing onstage with Republican nominee Pransanth Reddy at the same time.
Davids has traditionally avoided open public appearances in the district even outside campaign season events, preferring publicity opportunities at scripted events at businesses and local government offices with only invited attendees. She’s frequently panned by critics on her social media, where her publicity photos featuring her with small, friendly crowds are posted.
Davids debated Republican Amanda Adkins in 2022 and Republican Prasanth Reddy in 2024 in events jointly organized by Kansas City PBS, KCUR and the Johnson County Post. The 2024 debate was the only scheduled face-to-face debate between Davids and Reddy. It was conducted in the Kansas City PBS studio and livestreamed, rather than staged as a traditional open public forum. The Post says the 2022 and 2024 debates were recorded before small audiences in a closed television studio.
According to the Post, its forums use questions developed partly from readers, give candidates equal time and permit follow-up questions or rebuttals. The newspaper said such events sometimes force candidates to address subjects they might prefer to avoid.
Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty told the Post that there is “no substitute” for independently organized town halls and forums and said elected officials increasingly substitute social media, telephone town halls and controlled events for meetings where members of the public can directly challenge them.
