Emilia Strong Sykes (born January 4, 1986) is an American politician serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

Ohio's 13th congressional district The 13th Ohio's congressional districts, congressional district of Ohio is represented by United States House of Representatives, Representative Emilia Sykes. Due to reapportionment following the 2010 United States census, Ohio lost its 17th and ...

since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she formerly represented the 34th district of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, which consists of portions of the Akron area. From 2019 until 2021, she also served as minority leader of that chamber.

Early life and education

Sykes was born and raised in

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

. She is the daughter of state senator

Vernon Sykes Vernon Sykes (born October 2, 1951) is an American politician who served as the state Senator for the 28th district of the Ohio Senate from 2017 to 2024. The district included Akron, Barberton, Green, Portage Lakes, Sawyerwood, Lakemore and p ...

and former state representative Barbara Sykes, who successively held the same seat from 1982 to 2014. Between Vernon, Barbara, and Emilia, the Sykes family held the seat for 40 years. Emilia grew up dancing and competing in

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and made it to the

AAU Junior Olympics The AAU Junior Olympic Games are the pinnacle competitions held annually by the US Amateur Athletic Union. Overview The AAU Junior Olympic Games are known as the largest national multi-sport event for youth in the United States. It has become th ...

, where she focused on the

vault Vault may refer to: * Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards Architecture * Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space * Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored * Burial vault (enclosur ...

. She graduated from

Firestone High School Firestone Community Learning Center (Firestone CLC), previously known as Harvey S. Firestone High School, is a public high school located on the northwest side of Akron, Ohio. It is one of seven high schools in the Akron Public Schools. The high ...

. Sykes initially attended

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...

, where she was the runner up Miss Tuskegee University. She then transferred to

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a Public university, public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Kent State University at Ashtabula, Ashtabula, Kent State ...

in Ohio, where she graduated ''

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in psychology. She received a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Florida Levin College of Law The University of Florida Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida and second oldest overall in the stat ...

and a

Master of Public Health The Master of Public Health (MPH), Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH), Master of Medical Science in Public Health (MMSPH) and the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH), International Masters for Health Leadership (IMHL) are interdisciplinary profes ...

from the College of Public Health and Health Professions. Sykes worked as a law clerk for the chief judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Northern District of Georgia. Afterwards, she served as an administrative adviser in the Summit County fiscal office.

Ohio House of Representatives

In 2013, she ran for the

to succeed her father, Vernon, who was term-limited. She won the Democratic nomination by defeating Summit County councilman Frank Communale. She later defeated Republican nominee Cynthia Blake in the general election by 72%–28% of the vote. In 2015, Sykes and fellow Democratic lawmaker

Greta Johnson Greta Johnson (born May 2, 1977) is an American attorney and politician. Johnson is the former representative of the 35th district of the Ohio House of Representatives, serving from January 2015 to March 2017. Johnson is a former assistant prosec ...

introduced legislation to remove the sales tax on feminine hygiene products. In 2019, Sykes was elected as the leader of the Democratic caucus, becoming the minority leader of the Ohio House. During her first year being leader of the Democratic caucus, the number of bipartisan bills passed in the Ohio House was double the combined total of the previous four years. During the

2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 election. The primaries and caucuses took p ...

, Sykes endorsed Joe Biden. That same year, she won the

EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

2020

Gabby Giffords Gabrielle Dee Giffords (born June 8, 1970) is an American retired politician and gun violence prevention advocate. She served as a member of the United States House of Representatives representing from January 2007 until January 2012, when ...

Rising Star Award.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2022

In January 2022, Sykes announced her candidacy for

. She faced a competitive race, with outside groups like the

Congressional Leadership Fund The Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) is a Super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Super PAC, which was closely linked to former House Speaker John Boehner and House GOP leadership, was founded in 20 ...

funding ads that targeted her record on public safety and criminal justice. Some ads attacked her past support for a bipartisan

bail reform Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Court bail may be offered to secure the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when r ...

bill, but analysts noted they misrepresented the bill, which aimed to let courts assess a defendant’s risk to public safety rather than rely solely on cash bail. In November 2022, she won the general election, defeating Republican nominee

Madison Gesiotto Gilbert Madison Mari Gesiotto Gilbert (née Gesiotto; born March 20, 1992) is an American attorney, pageant queen, political candidate, and political executive. Gesiotto Gilbert was the national and international representative as Miss Ohio USA in 2014 an ...

2024

In 2024, Sykes ran for reelection in Ohio’s 13th congressional district, a race widely viewed as one of the most competitive in the country.Bottar, Abigail. “Ohio 13th Congressional District 2024 race is very competitive,” *Ideastream Public Media*, November 1, 2024

/ref> She faced Republican Kevin Coughlin, who received strong support from national Republican groups, including a campaign visit from House Speaker Mike Johnson.“Akron’s 13th Congressional District likely to see Sykes–Coughlin rematch,” *Signal Ohio*, June 12, 2025

/ref> The race saw significant outside spending: *OpenSecrets* reported over $6.0 million in ad spending opposing Sykes, with $3.84 million funded by the Congressional Leadership Fund alone.“Ohio District 13 2024 Race – Outside Spending,” *OpenSecrets*, accessed June 2025

/ref> Many of these ads recycled themes from 2022, targeting Sykes’s past support for bipartisan bail reform and portraying her as lenient on crime and immigration.Israel, Josh. “GOP ad targeting Ohio House nominee is latest in a series of lies against Black candidates,” *American Journal & Media*, September 19, 2022

/ref>“New Ad: Emilia Sykes Too Dangerous,” *Congressional Leadership Fund*, October 18, 2024

/ref> Fact-checkers and Sykes’s campaign stated that these ads mischaracterized her record and repeated false claims about releasing “dangerous criminals.” Despite the aggressive campaign environment and national attention, Sykes was reelected with 51.1% of the vote to Coughlin’s 48.9%.“Ohio’s 13th Congressional District election, 2024,” *Ballotpedia*

/ref>

Tenure

Sykes cast her first vote in Congress on January 3, 2023, to support Democrat

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries ( ; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democrati ...

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

. She was officially sworn in as a member of the

118th Congress The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January ...

on January 7. During her first term, she was appointed to the committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and on Science, Space, and Technology. Following the 2023 East Palestine train derailment in Ohio, Sykes and Representative Bill Johnson (R-OH) introduced the

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...

RAIL Act to strengthen railroad safety regulations and prevent future accidents. In 2024, Sykes helped secure Akron's designation as one of seven regional tech hubs in the country, with its focus on sustainable plastics and

rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

manufacturing. The initiative was projected to create 6,300 jobs and attract $1.8 billion in private investment over ten years. Reflecting on Akron’s history as the “ Rubber Capital of the World", she also cosponsored a bipartisan bill with Representative

Darin LaHood Darin McKay LaHood ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American attorney and politician who has served as a U.S. representative from Illinois since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, LaHood has represented the 16th district since 2023, and previo ...

(R-IL) to offer a thirty percent tax credit for purchasing retreaded tires in order to support domestic manufacturing and local jobs.

Committee assignments

Sykes's committee assignments for the

119th Congress The 119th United States Congress is the current term of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened on January 3, 2025, for th ...

include: *

Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

** Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight (

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

) *

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works ...

(vice ranking member) ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

Sykes's caucus memberships include: *

Problem Solvers Caucus The Problem Solvers Caucus is a group in the United States House of Representatives that has included members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, with the Caucus' stated goal of fostering bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues ...

(co-chair of the tariffs, trade and strategic competition working group) *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...

(vice-chair of the affordable housing taskforce) * Bipartisan Women's Caucus (co-chair) *

Congressional Black Caucus The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) is made up of Black members of the United States Congress. Representative Yvette Clarke from New York, the current chairperson, succeeded Steven Horsford from Nevada in 2025. Although most members belong ...

Political positions

Sykes is considered a moderate Democrat.

Immigration

In 2025, Sykes was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the

Laken Riley Act The Laken Riley Act is a United States law that requires the detention, without Bail, bond, of Illegal immigration to the United States, illegal immigrants admitting to, charged with, or convicted of theft-related crimes, assaulting a police of ...

Infrastructure

In 2024, Sykes announced $169 million in federal funding secured for Ohio's drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

Healthcare

Sykes voted against the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act in January 2023, a bill which would remove COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers. In February, she voted against a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency three months earlier than the president's declared date. Sykes co-introduced the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act in 2023, a legislative package designed to address racial disparities in maternal mortality. The act includes 13 bills focused on reducing pregnancy-related deaths through measures like nutrition programs, maternal vaccination promotion, and mental health support for mothers.

Law enforcement

Sykes co-introduced the bipartisan Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act in 2023, alongside Reps.

Greg Landsman Gregory John Landsman (born December 4, 1976) is an American politician who has been the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2023. The district is based in Cincinnati, and includes most of its inner suburbs. A ...

, Mike Carey, and Max Miller. The bill proposes allowing law enforcement agencies to use federal grants for recruitment and retention bonuses.

Personal life

Emilia Sykes is married to politician

Kevin Boyce Kevin L. Boyce (born October 5, 1971) is an Americans, American politician and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party who currently serves as President of the Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin County Board of Commission ...

. She is a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes
official U.S. House website
Emilia Sykes for Congress
campaign website * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sykes, Emilia 1986 births 20th-century African-American women 20th-century American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American women politicians African-American members of the United States House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Ohio 21st-century African-American women politicians Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Female members of the United States House of Representatives Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni Kent State University alumni Living people Politicians from Akron, Ohio Women state legislators in Ohio 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives