Emilia Strong Sykes (born January 4, 1986) is an American politician who is the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Ohio's 13th congressional district The 13th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Tim Ryan. Due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States Census, Ohio lost its 17th and 18th congressional districts, necessitating redrawing of district lines. ...

. She formerly represented the 34th district of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in Ch ...

, which consists of portions of the Akron area. From 2019 until 2021, she also served as minority leader of that chamber.

Biography

Sykes grew up in the Akron area and is the daughter of former state representatives

Vernon Sykes Vernon Sykes (born October 2, 1951) is an American politician serving as the state Senator for the 28th district of the Ohio Senate. The district included Akron, Barberton, Green, Portage Lakes, Sawyerwood, Lakemore and portions of Cuyahoga Fa ...

(now an Ohio state senator) and Barbara Sykes, who successively held the same seat from 1982 to 2014. Between Vernon, Barbara, and Emilia, the Sykes family held the seat for 40 years. Sykes holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in psychology from

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

. She received a JD from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and a Master of Public Health from the College of Public Health and Health Professions. She previously attended

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

, where she filed a lawsuit against the university after it mistakenly honored her as the winner of the Miss Tuskegee University beauty pageant in 2006 and revoked her title after correcting it. Sykes has served as an administrative adviser in the Summit County fiscal office. In 2013, she ran for the

to succeed her father, Vernon, who was term-limited. She defeated Summit County Councilman Frank Communale to secure the Democratic nomination, and Republican nominee Cynthia Blake 72%-28% in the general election. In 2015, Sykes and fellow Democratic lawmaker Greta Johnson introduced a bill that sought to exempt feminine hygiene products from sales tax. In 2019, Sykes was elected the leader of the Democrats in the Ohio House, becoming minority leader. During the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Sykes supported Joe Biden. Sykes won the

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

2020

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun control advocate who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when she resigned ...

Rising Star Award.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

In January 2022, Sykes announced her candidacy for

. In November 2022, she won the general election, defeating Republican nominee Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a former

Miss Ohio USA The Miss Ohio USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Ohio in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. It has previously been known as Miss Ohio Universe. It is produced by Proc ...

Tenure

COVID-19 policy

On January 31, 2023, Sykes voted against H.R.497:Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill which would lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. On February 1, 2023, Sykes voted against a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency.

Voting rights

On February 9, 2023, Sykes voted against H.J.Res. 24: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 which condemns the District of Columbia’s plan that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Equality Caucus *

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is a caucus made up of most African-American members of the United States Congress. Representative Karen Bass from California chaired the caucus from 2019 to 2021; she was succeeded by Representative Joyce B ...

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a moderate-to-conservative approach to fiscal matters. As of ...

Committee assignments

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment (vice ranking member)

Electoral history

References

External links

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes
official U.S. House website
Emilia Sykes for Congress
campaign website * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Emilia 1986 births 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Ohio African-American women in politics Female members of the United States House of Representatives Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Kent State University alumni Left-wing populism in the United States Living people Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Politicians from Akron, Ohio Women state legislators in Ohio