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Stephanie Byers

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Stephanie Byers
Member of the
Kansas House of Representatives
from the 86th district
In office
January 11, 2021 – January 9, 2023
Preceded byJim Ward
Succeeded bySilas Miller
Personal details
Born (1963-02-05) February 5, 1963 (age 61)
Norman, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLori Haas[1]
EducationOklahoma Christian University (BM)
Kansas State University (MM)

Stephanie Byers (born February 5, 1963) is an American politician and educator who served in the Kansas House of Representatives from the 86th district. Her victory in the 2020 election made her the first openly transgender person to serve in the Kansas Legislature and the first transgender Native American person, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, elected to office in the United States, but she did not run for reelection.[2]

Early life and education

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Stephanie Byers was born February 5, 1963, in Norman, Oklahoma. Byers came out as transgender in 2014.[1][3] Byers graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a Bachelor of Music Education in 1986 and later Kansas State University with a Master of Music in 2015.[4]

Career

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Teaching

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Stephanie Byers's campaign logo

Byers taught at Wichita North High School for 29 years before retiring in 2019.[5] In 2018, she was given the National Educator of the Year award by the GLSEN.[6][4][7] From 2018 to 2020, she served on the board of Wichita Pride where during her tenure she served as the Communications Director and Board Secretary.[3] She spoke in front of the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of GLSEN while the court was hearing arguments in Bostock v. Clayton County.[8]

Kansas House of Representatives

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In 2019, Byers announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for the Kansas House of Representatives from the 86th district to succeed Jim Ward, who was seeking election to the Kansas Senate.[9] She won the Democratic nomination and was elected in the general election becoming the first transgender person elected to the Kansas legislature and the first transgender Native American (as a member of the Chickasaw Nation) elected to office in the United States.[7][10][11] During the campaign she raised $31,578.15 while her Republican opponent, Cyndi Howerton, raised $9,360.05.[8]

In June 2022, she dropped out of her primary for reelection, citing a need for devoting attention to dealing with health issues experienced by both her own and her wife's aging parents. She described the prior legislative session as "tough," adding, "We knew going in that we were going to see legislation that was going to attack the trans community. It was accompanied by hateful comments on social media. Hateful emails." Despite having received support from many people she added, "there's an emotional exhaustion that comes from having those repeated attacks over and over again."[2]

Electoral history

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2020

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See also: 2020 Kansas House of Representatives election
Kansas House of Representatives 86th district Democratic primary, 2020[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Stephanie Byers 1,105 100.0
Total votes 1,105 100.0
Kansas House of Representatives 86th district general election, 2020[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Stephanie Byers 3,616 55.49%
Republican Cyndi Howerton 2,901 44.51%
Total votes 6,517 100%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Kansas High School Students Defend Transgender Band Director Against Hate Group". May 6, 2018. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "SThe first transgender lawmaker in Kansas, Stephanie Byers, will not seek a second term". June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Stephanie Byers – Kansas House of Representatives, 86th District". Kansas Equality Coalition. July 30, 2020. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "About Stephanie Byers". Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Eckels, Carla (May 21, 2019). "Retiring After 28 Years, Transgender North High Teacher Looks Forward To Next Chapter". KMUW. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "Transgender Wichita teacher wins national education award". April 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Shepherd, Katie (August 5, 2020). "Kansas could elect its first openly transgender lawmaker this fall". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Kansas makes history, elects retired Wichita teacher as its first transgender legislator". The Wichita Eagle. November 3, 2020. Archived from the original on December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  9. ^ "Retired teacher wants to be first transgender lawmaker in Kansas House". KAKE (TV). December 4, 2019. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "Transgender and non-binary candidates elected in several US 'firsts'". Largs and Millport Weekly News. November 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Stephanie Byers Wins to Become Kansas's 1st Trans Elected Official". Advocate. November 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  12. ^ "Kansas Secretary of State 2020 Primary Election Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.
  13. ^ "Kansas Secretary of State 2020 General Election Official Vote Totals" (PDF). Kansas Secretary of State.
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