Austin Davis

Austin Ankarie Davis (born October 4, 1989) is an American politician serving as the 35th lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Davis previously served as a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 35th district from 2018 to 2022. He is both the first African-American lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania and the youngest person to be elected lieutenant governor in the United States.

Early life and education Davis was born October 4, 1989, in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. He attended McKeesport Area High School, where he founded and served as chairman of the Mayor's Youth Advisory Council under then-mayor of McKeesport, Jim Brewster.

After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, where he earned a BA in political science in 2012.

Career While in college, Davis was hired as a legislative intern by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In a February 2011 article on Black History Month, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review highlighted him as "a veteran at the politics of helping others."

Davis previously served as executive assistant to Allegheny County executive Rich Fitzgerald. In 2014, Davis became the youngest and the first black vice chair at the Allegheny County Democratic Committee.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Davis ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 35th district in a 2018 special election. Davis defeated Republican candidate Fawn Walker-Montgomery with over 73% of the vote and became the first African American to serve as State Representative for the district.

Committee assignments (2021–2022) Appropriations Consumer Affairs Pennsylvania law requires that a lieutenant gubernatorial candidate must run independent of the gubernatorial candidate in the primary.

On November 8, 2022, Shapiro and Davis handily defeated the Republican ticket of Doug Mastriano and Carrie DelRosso in the general election. Davis became the first African American to be elected lieutenant governor and the first millennial to win statewide office in Pennsylvania.

Tenure Upon his swearing in at age 33, Davis became the youngest lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania history. He is also the youngest current lieutenant governor in the United States. In 2024, Davis was chosen as the chair of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association.

Personal life Davis met his wife, Blayre Holmes, the Director of Community Relations for the Pittsburgh Steelers, at the August Wilson Center in 2012. The two were married on September 1, 2017. They live in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The couple had their first child, a daughter, in September of 2023.

Davis has served on the board of directors of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh, The Consortium for Public Education, Communities in Schools of Pittsburgh, Auberle, Adonai Center for Black Males, Small Seeds Development, and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School.