U.S. House of Representatives
Elections On December 6, 1995, Davis announced his candidacy for the
7th congressional district, adding his name to the already announced Democratic candidates, including Alderman Percy Z. Giles, Cook County Board of Commissioners member
Bobbie L. Steele, Alderman
Ed Smith, and Alderman
Dorothy Tillman. Five other Democratic candidates entered the race later: S. Mendenhall, Joan Sullivan, G. Winbush, Anthony Travis, and Joan Powell, making it the largest field of candidates for U.S. Congress in Illinois in 1996. Davis lived a block outside the district, but was familiar in it. Davis ran on a progressive Democratic platform popular in the district. He was
pro-choice and supported
gay rights, the
ERA,
single-payer health care, and some federal support for child nutrition and care. What Operation Silver Shovel may have done to undermine Giles's chances for election are unclear as he was already lagging with a mere 3% among likely Democratic primary voters in a mid-December poll compared to Davis's 33%, Smith's 8%, Tillman's 7%, and Steele's 6%. But Giles did have Mayor
Richard M. Daley's support and that of other well-known area figures—some of whom continued their support during the controversy. On March 10, 1996, during a radio debate hosted by
WMAQ-AM, Tillman and Smith called for Davis to reject the endorsement of former alderman candidate Wallace "Gator" Bradley, spokesman for convicted
Gangster Disciples leader
Larry Hoover. During the campaign, Tillman highlighted comments Davis made in an August 1970 issue of
Ebony: "[T]he white female often gives the black man certain kinds of recognition that the black woman often does not give him." The Davis campaign countered that Davis was speaking as a
psychologist in his role as a training director at a health center. Supporting this was New Party's celebration of him as the "first New Party member elected to the U.S. Congress." Although the State of Illinois did not permit fusion voting, New Party advocated it as a means to promote itself and its agenda and to project New Party ideology into the Democratic Party. Candidates were called "N[ew]P[arty] Democrats" During this time, New Party was experiencing substantial growth. Davis was also endorsed by the Chicago
Democratic Socialists of America (CDSA), of which he had been a member since before his congressional run.
ACORN,
AFL–CIO,
Sierra Club, and the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters also endorsed Davis. In the March 20 Democratic primary, Davis received more votes than the two closest candidates, Tillman and Smith, combined. in January 2011 File:Educational Excellence for African Americans Executive Order Signing.jpg|thumb|Davis watches as President Obama signs an executive order on July 26, 2012
Tenure Davis expressed interest in replacing
John Stroger on the ballot in the 2006 race for President of the Cook County Board. Stroger's son
Todd Stroger was ultimately selected. In late 2008, Davis expressed interest in being President
Barack Obama's replacement in the
U.S. Senate before
Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's
scandal erupted. In a December 31, 2008,
New York Times article, Davis said that he turned down an offer from Blagojevich's representatives to appoint him to the Senate. Instead, Blagojevich appointed
Roland Burris. Davis ran for mayor of Chicago a second time
in 2011, but withdrew before the election and endorsed
Carol Moseley Braun. In the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Davis endorsed
Kamala Harris. He later endorsed
Joe Biden ahead of the
Iowa caucus.
Sun Myung Moon In 2004, Davis was met with national controversy when he crowned Reverend
Sun Myung Moon in a
religious ceremony at the
Dirksen Senate Office Building honoring Moon. Moon declared himself the
Messiah at the crowning ceremony, in which Davis appeared on the invitation as a sponsoring co-chair. Davis told
Christian Challenge that Moon's declaring himself the Messiah "was similar to a baseball team owner telling team members that 'we are the greatest team on earth'" before a game. Davis said the peace awards were to "recognize people for promoting peace. Of course the highest recognition goes to the highest promoter and the highest promoter is Reverend Moon, so they come up with something higher than the certificates and plaques that other folks get."
Trip paid for by Tamil Tigers As the 15th most prolific traveler in Congress, Davis stirred up controversy by accepting a trip to
Sri Lanka in 2005 on behalf of the
Tamil minority there, paid for by the
Tamil Tigers, a group that the U.S. government has designated as a
terrorist organization for its use of
suicide bombers and
child soldiers. Davis said that he was unaware that the Tigers were the source of the trip's funding.
Relationship with Louis Farrakhan Davis has said that
Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the
Nation of Islam who has attracted considerable controversy for his
anti-Semitic and
homophobic remarks, is an "outstanding human being" and that "I personally know him, I've been to his home, done meetings, participated in events with him." In March 2018, Davis said: "The world is so much bigger than Farrakhan and the
Jewish question and his position on that and so forth. For those heavy into it, that's their thing, but it ain't my thing." Davis condemned Farrakhan's views later that month, saying, "So let me be clear: I reject, condemn and oppose Minister Farrakhan's views and remarks regarding the Jewish people and the Jewish religion." He attended Farrakhan's
Million Man March and was the only member of Congress to address
the 20th anniversary of it.
Committee assignments For the
119th Congress: •
Committee on Ways and Means •
Subcommittee on Health •
Subcommittee on Work and Welfare (Ranking Member)
Party leadership and caucus membership •
Black Maternal Health Caucus •
Congressional Ukraine Caucus • Regional Whip • Chair of the Congressional Postal Caucus • Caucus on Re-Entry (Co-Chair) •
Afterschool Caucuses • Community Health Center's Caucus •
Congressional Black Caucus • Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys •
Congressional Coalition on Adoption •
Congressional Progressive Caucus • Congressional Sugar Caucus == Political positions ==