Paul Davis biography

Early life and education

Davis was born on July 12, 1972, in Woodland, California. He grew up in Lawrence, attended the city's public schools and graduated from Lawrence High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Kansas in 1995 and a law degree from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka in 1997, and was admitted to the Kansas bar in 1998.

While a student he interned for Anthony Hensley, the longtime Democratic leader in the Kansas Senate, and for former U.S. Rep. Jim Slattery. Before his election he worked on the government affairs side of law: Ballotpedia lists posts as assistant director of government affairs at the Kansas Insurance Department and with the Kansas Bar Association.

Law practice

Davis became a partner at Fagan, Emert & Davis, a Lawrence firm whose work covers commercial litigation, family law, personal injury, criminal defense and real estate. His law practice became a campaign issue in 2014 and again in 2018, when Republican ads revived a late-1990s police raid on a Coffeyville-area club whose owner his firm represented. He was not charged; the elections page covers how the episode was reported and fact-checked.

After leaving the Legislature he also took on public-interest litigation. In 2015 he represented two plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against Kansas's proof-of-citizenship requirement for voter registration. The Kansas Republican Party chairman argued that a state law barred him from the case because he had voted for the 2011 law as a legislator. Davis disagreed and stayed on, calling the demand a "media stunt" (Lawrence Journal-World, Oct. 6, 2015).

Kansas House, 2003 to 2015

Davis took his seat for House District 46, which covered east and central Lawrence, in January 2003. He served six terms. By 2008 he was policy chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and sat on the Taxation, Judiciary and Public Safety and Transportation Budget committees. On December 1, 2008, House Democrats elected him minority leader over Rep. Bill Feuerborn of Garnett, 29 to 18. He led the caucus through the budget cuts of the recession years and the first Brownback term, then left the House in January 2015. Details, votes and committee assignments are on the Kansas House page.

Two campaigns, two near misses

Governor, 2014. Davis announced on September 17, 2013, that he would challenge Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, and in October named Wichita businesswoman Jill Docking as his running mate. His campaign centered on school funding and on the effects of the 2012 income tax cuts. More than 100 current and former Republican officeholders endorsed him in July 2014. He lost on November 4, 46.1 percent to 49.8 percent.

Congress, 2018. When Rep. Lynn Jenkins chose not to seek a sixth term, Davis entered the race for Kansas's 2nd Congressional District, a seat he had carried in the 2014 governor's race. He launched on August 15, 2017, saying he would not back Nancy Pelosi for a House leadership post. Steve Watkins, a first-time Republican candidate, beat him on November 6, 2018, by 2,239 votes.

Both races are covered in detail, with results charts and the main points of contention, on the elections page.

Between and after the campaigns

In October 2015, speaking to Douglas County Democrats, Davis said he had underestimated national money in the 2014 race and regretted not spending more time in southwest Kansas. After the 2018 loss he did not run again. Wikipedia, citing the Kansas Secretary of State's client listings, reports that he registered as a Statehouse lobbyist in December 2020, with clients that included tobacco, health insurance and casino interests.

The state's 2026 lobbyist directory, covering registrations through June 29, 2026, lists Paul T. Davis of Paul Davis Law Firm, LLC, at a Topeka address, registered January 5, 2026. Its client list runs to about 20 names, among them the University of Kansas, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County, the Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority, Centene Corporation, Kansas Crossing Casino and the Kansas City Royals (registration ending May 31, 2026). He holds no public office, and we found no record of him as a candidate in 2026.

What this page leaves out

This archive does not cover Davis's family. Relatives who are not public officials are not named or pictured anywhere on the site. There are no photographs of Davis either; the graphics are our own.