Emilia Sykes is a first-time US Rep for the new Ohio 13, which was redistricted in 2022. 

The political history of Representative Emilia Sykes dates back many years — to even before her birth in 1986. Her parents were deeply committed to Ohio politics and her mother, while pregnant, was the first Black woman to serve as a city councilor in Akron. “I often tell people, most parents expose their children in utero to classical music and reading certain books, but I was exposed to city council meetings.” Later, her father and mother both became members of the Ohio House of Representatives.

A champion gymnast in high school, Sykes said she wanted to be a dancer, “and when that didn’t work out, I went to law school.” Before running for Congress in 2022, she represented Akron in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2015 to 2022, and became minority leader of the Ohio House in 2019. In addition to being elected to U.S. Congress in 2022, she married Kevin Boyce, a county commissioner who earlier had been state treasurer and a state representative.

In Congress, Sykes is a member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and serves as vice-ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. She is also a member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Sykes sponsored H.R.4097: a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize mental and behavioral health education and training grants.

Rep. Emilia Sykes supports:

• Creating an economy where everyone can succeed through good paying jobs and reducing everyday costs.
• Promoting access to affordable, quality healthcare, including capping the cost of life-saving medications and eliminating systemic biases that lead to health inequities.
• Strengthening and repairing our roads, bridges, railways, waterways, and runways by implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• A woman’s right to choose.
• Granting access to clean water, clean air, and a clean environment as a basic human right.