Susan Davis (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing California's 53rd Congressional District. She assumed office in 2001. Her current term ends on January 3, 2021.
Davis (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. House to represent California's 53rd Congressional District. She won in the general election on November 6, 2018.
On September 4, 2019, Davis announced that she would not seek re-election in 2020. In her announcement, Davis said she had "a desire to live and work 'at home' in San Diego."
Davis was a member of the San Diego Unified Board of Education from 1983-1992. She won election to the California State Assembly in 1994, where she served until 2000. In the Assembly, she chaired the Committee on Consumer Protection, Government Efficiency and Economic Development.
Davis was first elected to the U.S. House in 2000, defeating Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray to represent California's 49th Congressional District. She won re-election in 2002 in the newly redistricted District 53. Davis won re-election in District 53 in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and most recently in 2018, defeating Republican Morgan Murtaugh in the general election on November 6, 2018.
In her time in Congress, Davis has served on the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Based on analysis of multiple outside rankings, Davis is an average Democratic member of Congress, meaning she will vote with the Democratic Party on the majority of bills.
Below is an abbreviated outline of Davis' academic, professional, and political career:
Member, Biomedical Research Caucus, present
Member, Bipartisan, Bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimers Disease, present
Member, Bipartisan Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, present
Member, Coalition on Autism Research and Education, present
Member, Congressional Arts Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, present
Member, Congressional Caucus for Womens Issues, present
Member, Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, present
Member, Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Issues, present
Member, Congressional China Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Climate Change Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Coastal Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Coast Guard Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Cystic Fibrosis Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, present
Member, Congressional Human Rights Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Internet Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Kidney Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Mental Health Caucus, present
Co-Founder/Co-Chair, Congressional Navy-Marine Corps Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Philanthropy Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Port Security Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Soccer Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Taiwan Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Task Force on Tobacco and Health, present
Member, Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Zoo and Aquarium Caucus, present
Member, Friends of New Zealand Congressional Caucus, present
Member, Historic Preservation Caucus, present
Member, House Congressional Biotechnology Caucus, present
Member, House Impact Aid Coalition, present
Co-Chair, House Mentoring Caucus, present
Member, House Nursing Caucus, present
Member, House Oceans Caucus, present
Member, House Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus, present
Member, International Conservation Caucus, present
Member, LGBT Equality Caucus, present
Member, Modeling and Simulation Caucus, present
Executive Board, New Democrat Coalition, present
Member, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus, present
Member, Research and Development Caucus, present
Member, Tennis Caucus, present
Member, United States-China Working Group, present
Member, Working Families Caucus, present
Former Chair, Committee on Consumer Protection, Government Efficiency, and Economic Development, California State Assembly
Former Member, Democratic Leadership Council
Former Member, Education and the Workforce Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Ranking Member, Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Co-Chair, National Security Interagency Reform Working Group
Former Member, Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, United States House of Representatives
Former Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Military Personnel, United States House of Representatives`
Former Member, Subcommittee on Readiness, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Subcommittee on Readiness, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition
Former Member, Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Member, Armed Services
Member, Education & Labor
Member, House Administration
Member, Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
Chair, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment
Member, Subcommittee on Military Personnel
Member, Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
Astrological Sign:
Aries
— Awards:
— Father's Occupation:
Names of Grandchildren:
Henry, Jane, Theo
— Number of Grandchildren:
Priority Issues:
Health Care, Environment, Education, Veterans Affairs, National Defense and Military Families
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- Yes
2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- Unknown Position
Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No
1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No
1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes
Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes
Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No
1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- No
2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- Yes
Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Unknown Position
1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- Unknown Position
2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- No
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- X
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- No Answer
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer
6. Prohibit public funding of abortions and to organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
1. Agriculture
- Maintain Status
2. Arts
- Slightly Increase
3. Defense
- Slightly Increase
4. Education
- Greatly Increase
5. Environment
- Slightly Increase
6. Homeland security
- Slightly Increase
7. International aid
- Maintain Status
8. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase
9. Medical research
- Slightly Increase
10. National parks
- Slightly Increase
11. Public health services
- Slightly Increase
12. Scientific research
- Maintain Status
13. Space exploration programs
- Maintain Status
14. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase
15. Welfare
- Maintain Status
16. Emergency preparedness
- Slightly Increase
17. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Armed Forces personnel training
- Slightly Increase
2. Intelligence operations
- Slightly Increase
3. Military hardware
- Slightly Increase
4. Modernization of weaponry and equipment
- Slightly Increase
5. National missile defense
- Greatly Decrease
6. Pay for active duty personnel
- Greatly Increase
7. Programs to improve troop retention rates
- Slightly Increase
8. Research and development of new weapons
- Maintain Status
9. Troop and equipment readiness
- Slightly Increase
1. Less than $25,000
- Slightly Decrease
2. $25,000-$75,000
- Maintain Status
3. $75,000-$150,000
- Maintain Status
4. Over $150,000
- Maintain Status
5. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
6. Over $40,000
- Maintain Status
7. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
8. Capital gains taxes
- Maintain Status
9. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase
10. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
11. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
12. Inheritance taxes
- Slightly Decrease
13. Charitable contributions
- Maintain Status
14. Child tax credit
- Slightly Increase
15. Earned income tax credit
- Slightly Increase
16. Medical expense deduction
- Greatly Increase
17. Mortgage deduction
- Slightly Increase
18. Student loan credit
- Slightly Increase
1. Do you support the permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
- No
2. Do you support making President Bush's tax cuts permanent?
- No
3. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support public taxpayer funding for federal candidates who comply with campaign spending limits.
- X
2. Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
- No Answer
3. Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
- X
4. Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
- No Answer
5. Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
- No Answer
6. Require Section 527 organizations to register with the Federal Election Commission as Political Action Committees.
- X
7. Do you support instant run-off voting?
- Undecided
8. Should Election Day be a national holiday?
- Undecided
9. Do you support a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman?
- No
1. Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- X
2. Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- No Answer
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with educational, vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
- X
5. Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
- No Answer
6. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
- X
7. Impose stricter penalties for those convicted of corporate crimes.
- X
8. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer
1. Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
- X
2. Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs.
- X
3. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer
4. Allow doctors to recommend marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- X
5. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
- X
6. Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs."
- No Answer
7. Support a federal law to standardize testing and penalties for steroid use in professional sports.
- X
1. Support national standards for and testing of public school students.
- No Answer
2. Allow parents to use vouchers, (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer
3. Allow parents to use vouchers, (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer
4. Allow teachers and professionals to receive authorization and funding to establish charter schools.
- X
5. Reward teachers with merit pay for working in low-income schools.
- X
6. Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology).
- X
7. Support affirmative action in public college admissions.
- X
8. Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.
- X
9. Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
- X
1. Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- No Answer
3. Provide tax credits or grants to businesses that offer child care services to employees.
- X
4. Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
- X
5. Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
- No Answer
6. Increase the federal minimum wage.
- X
7. Support the right of workers to strike without fear of being permanently replaced.
- X
8. Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
- X
9. The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions.
- X
10. The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs.
- No Answer
11. The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
- X
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
- X
2. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
- X
3. Support Clear Skies Act to reduce power plant emissions by setting a national cap on pollutants.
- No Answer
4. Require states to compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land.
- No Answer
5. Relax logging restrictions on federal lands.
- No Answer
6. Relax standards on federal lands to allow increased recreational usage.
- No Answer
7. Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
- No Answer
8. Strengthen emission controls and fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
- X
9. Support opening a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration.
- No Answer
10. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- X
11. Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
- No Answer
12. Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits.
- No Answer
13. Support the Kyoto Protocol to limit global warming.
- X
1. Reauthorize the ban on the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- X
2. Maintain and strengthen the current level of enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X
3. Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- No Answer
6. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- X
7. Require a license for gun possession.
- X
1. Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
2. Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income.
- No Answer
3. Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
- No Answer
4. Establish limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
5. Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
- X
6. Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
- X
7. Support automatic enrollment of children in federal health care programs such as CHIP and Medicaid.
- X
8. Support stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells.
- No Answer
9. Allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research.
- X
1. Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
- No Answer
2. Establish English as the official national language.
- No Answer
3. Support a temporary worker program that would enable illegal immigrants to work in the United States legally.
- No Answer
4. Relax restrictions barring legal immigrants from using government funded social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps).
- X
5. Support amnesty for illegal immigrants already working in the United States.
- No Answer
1. Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
- X
2. Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
- X
3. Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
- No Answer
4. International Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
- No Answer
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
- Yes
2. Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
- Yes
3. Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
- No
4. Should the United States send more troops to Iraq?
- No
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
6. Should the United States use diplomatic and economic pressure to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program?
- Yes
7. Should the United States use military force to dismantle the North Korean nuclear weapons program?
- Undecided
8. Should the United States remove the North Korean government from power?
- No
9. Should the United States increase financial support to Afghanistan?
- Yes
10. Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan?
- No
11. Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations?
- Yes
12. Should the United States decrease its financial support of the United Nations?
- No
13. Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
- Yes
14. Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba?
- Yes
15. Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs?"
- No
16. Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives?
- Yes
17. Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund abstinence education?
- Yes
18. We must continue and encourage international aid and participation in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
- "I opposed using military force and believe the Bush administration has been grossly incompetent in conducting the post occupation. We must push the administration to clearly develop a transition policy where Iraqis confront violence from within. For any military solution to be successful it must include support for infrastructure development which has been missing under this administration. Contract fraud and abuse must be addressed so that the international community might aid in development efforts."
1. Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)?
- No
3. Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
- Yes
4. Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
- Yes
5. Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation) status with the United States?
- Yes
6. Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
- No
7. Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
- Undecided
2. Should the United States grant law enforcement agencies greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks?
- No
3. Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
- Yes
4. Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
- Yes
5. Do you support the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of prisoners in U.S. custody?
- Yes
6. Do you support a policy of pre-emptive military strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to U.S. national security?
- No
1. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.
- No Answer
2. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government.
- No Answer
3. Invest a portion of Social Security assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of United States Treasury securities.
- No Answer
4. Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
- No Answer
5. Lower the annual cost-of-living increases.
- No Answer
6. Raise the retirement age for individual eligibility to receive full Social Security benefits.
- No Answer
1. Collect taxes on commercial Internet transactions.
- No Answer
2. Continue the moratorium on Internet taxation.
- X
3. Implement government regulation of Internet content.
- No Answer
4. Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television.
- No Answer
5. Support strict penalties for Internet crimes (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
- X
6. Support legislation to detail how personal information can be collected and used on the Internet.
- X
7. Regulating the Internet is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
1. Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
- No Answer
2. Increase funding for child care programs.
- X
3. Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
- X
4. Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based, or other non-profit organizations.
- X
5. Abolish all federal welfare programs.
- No Answer
6. Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
- X
Latest Action: House - 06/21/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 06/20/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Tracker:Latest Action: House - 06/20/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Tracker:Susan Davis did not file to run for re-election.
Incumbent Susan Davis defeated Morgan Murtaugh in the general election for U.S. House California District 53 on November 6, 2018.
|
Susan Davis (D) |
69.1%
|
185,667 Votes✔ |
|
Morgan Murtaugh (R) |
30.9%
|
83,127 Votes |
Total votes: 268,794
The following candidates ran in the primary for U.S. House California District 53 on June 5, 2018.
|
Susan Davis (D) |
64.1%
|
93,051 Votes✔ |
|
Morgan Murtaugh (R) |
14.3%
|
20,827 Votes✔ |
|
Matt Mendoza (R) |
13.6%
|
19,710 Votes |
|
Shawn Gino Kane (R) |
3.7%
|
5,319 Votes |
|
Bryan Kim (Independent) |
2.4%
|
3,460 Votes |
|
Brett Goda (R) |
2.0%
|
2,898 Votes |
Total votes: 145,265
rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Susan Davis (D) defeated James Veltmeyer (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Davis and Veltmeyer defeated Nicholas Walpert (D) and Jim Ash (R) in the top-two primary on June 7, 2016.
U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2016
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Susan Davis Incumbent | 67% | 198,988 |
Republican | James Veltmeyer | 33% | 97,968 |
Total Votes | 296,956 | ||
Source: California Secretary of State |
U.S. House, California District 53 Primary, 2016
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Susan Davis Incumbent | 65.5% | 110,831 |
Republican | James Veltmeyer | 15.2% | 25,656 |
Republican | Jim Ash | 15% | 25,410 |
Democratic | Nicholas Walpert | 4.4% | 7,363 |
Total Votes | 169,260 | ||
Source: California Secretary of State |
Davis won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. She and Larry Wilske (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014, defeating John Edwards (R), Joel Marchese (R), Jim Stieringer (R), Wayne True (R), Christina Bobb (I) and John Campbell (I). Davis went on to defeat Wilske in the general election on November 4, 2014.
U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2014
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Susan Davis Incumbent | 58.8% | 87,104 |
Republican | Larry Wilske | 41.2% | 60,940 |
Total Votes | 148,044 | ||
Source: California Secretary of State |
U.S. House, California District 53 Primary, 2014
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Susan Davis Incumbent | 56.3% | 50,041 |
Republican | Larry Wilske | 20.7% | 18,384 |
Republican | Wayne True | 10.3% | 9,182 |
Republican | John Edwards | 4.5% | 3,986 |
Republican | Joel Marchese | 3.1% | 2,729 |
Republican | Jim Stieringer | 2.4% | 2,106 |
Independent | John Campbell | 1.8% | 1,596 |
Independent | Christina Bobb | 1% | 929 |
Total Votes | 88,953 | ||
Source: California Secretary of State |
Davis won re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 53rd District. She and Nick Popaditch (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012. Davis went on to defeat Popaditch in the general election on November 6, 2012.
U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2012
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Susan Davis Incumbent | 61.4% | 164,825 |
Republican | Nick Popaditch | 38.6% | 103,482 |
Total Votes | 268,307 | ||
Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" |
2010 On November 2, 2010, Susan Davis won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Michael Crimmins (R) and Paul Dekker (L) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2010
2008 On November 4, 2008, Susan Davis won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Michael Crimmins (R) and Edward Teyssier (L) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2008
2006 On November 7, 2006, Susan Davis won re-election to the United States House. She defeated John Woodrum (R) and Ernie Lippe (L) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2006
2004 On November 2, 2004, Susan Davis won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Darin Hunzeker (R), Lawrence Rockwood (G) and Adam Van Susteren (L) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2004
2002 On November 5, 2002, Susan Davis won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Bill VanDeWeghe (R) and Jim Dorenkott (Write-in) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 53 General Election, 2002
2000 On November 7, 2000, Susan Davis won election to the United States House. She defeated incumbent Brian Bilbray (R), Doris Ball (L) and Tahir Bhatti (Natural Law) in the general election. U.S. House, California District 49 General Election, 2000
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