Christina Haswood

Christina Haswood
Member of the Kansas House of Representatives
from the 10th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 11, 2021
Preceded byEileen Horn
Personal details
Born (1994-04-17) April 17, 1994 (age 30)
Lawrence, Kansas, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationHaskell Indian Nations University (AS)
Arizona State University (BS)
University of Kansas (MPH)

Christina Haswood (born April 17, 1994) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Kansas House of Representatives from the 10th district. Haswood represents southeastern Douglas County, including Baldwin City and part of Lawrence.[1]

Haswood is among the youngest members of the Kansas Legislature, as well as the third Native American member in the body's history.

Early life and education

Haswood is Navajo.[2] She was named Miss Indian Youth of Lawrence as a teenager.[3]

Haswood earned an associate's degree in Community Health at Haskell Indian Nations University before transferring to Arizona State University and earning a Bachelor's degree in public health in 2018. She graduated from the University of Kansas Medical Center with a Master's in Public Health in May 2020.[citation needed]

Career

Haswood announced her campaign for the Kansas House of Representatives from District 10 in May 2020. Her campaign quickly garnered support from prominent local, state, and national officials, including the retiring 10th District incumbent Eileen Horn, former Governor of Kansas Kathleen Sebelius, and New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland.[citation needed]

During the primary, Haswood began posting videos to a campaign TikTok account about her life and activities, which gradually increased in attention. Due in part to small donations from across the country as a result, Haswood raised the most money of any candidate in the race.[4]

On August 4, 2020, Haswood won the primary with 71% of the vote.[5] No Republican candidate filed to contest the general election. Haswood was elected to the Kansas House unopposed on November 3, 2020.

Kansas House of Representatives

Haswood wore traditional Navajo attire during her swearing-in ceremony on January 11, 2021. Her TikTok videos of the ceremony received media coverage from BuzzFeed and Vogue.[6][7] She serves on the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's Advisory Committee on Trauma.[8]

2021–2022 committee membership

  • Agriculture
  • Health and Human Services
  • Water
  • Joint Committee on State-Tribal Relations

Elections

Kansas House of Representatives 10th district election, 2020[9][10]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Christina Haswood 2,621 70.7
Democratic Brandon Holland 550 14.8
Democratic AJ Stevens 535 14.4
Total votes 3,706 100.0
General election
Democratic Christina Haswood 9,446 100.0
Total votes 9,446 100.0
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ "House District 10 Map" (PDF). kslegislature.org. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Why Kansas Representative Christina Haswood Wore Regalia While Being Sworn in". 13 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Tweet from Haswood". twitter.com. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "Haswood leads fundraising totals for contested area House seat; Holland and Dove gearing up for expensive general election". ljworld.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  5. ^ "August 4, 2020 Douglas County Primary Election Results" (PDF). Douglas County, KS Elections Office. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  6. ^ "Christina Haswood Wore Traditional Navajo Attire To Her Swearing-In Ceremony, And We're Crying Happy Tears". buzzfeed.com. 12 January 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  7. ^ "Why Kansas Representative Christina Haswood Wore Regalia While Being Sworn In". vogue.com. 13 January 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ^ "Advisory Committee on Trauma". kstrauma.org. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  9. ^ "August 4, 2020 Douglas County Primary Election Results" (PDF). Douglas County, KS Elections Office. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  10. ^ "November 3, 2020 Douglas County General Election Results" (PDF). Douglas County, KS Elections Office. Retrieved January 13, 2021.