[2] Boyda graduated with honors from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where she received dual degrees in chemistry and education.

[4] In January 2007, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole announced that the NRCC intended to target Boyda in 2008.

[8] In April 2009, DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen said that Boyda left him a message saying that she regretted turning down the organisation's assistance and asked Van Hollen to play the message to any vulnerable Democrat who was considering turning down the committee's assistance.

Boyda also applied to join the House Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of conservative Democratic representatives.

[12] Congresswoman Boyda made news on July 27, 2007, by leaving a Congressional hearing while a retired Army general testified about US progress in Iraq.

Retired Army General Jack Keane had testified that since the troop surge began, U.S. forces "are on the offensive and we have the momentum."

He also said security has improved in every neighborhood and district in and around Baghdad, and that "cafes, pool halls, coffee houses that I visited are full of people".

"[13] Her Chief of Staff Shanan Guinn said, "She was frustrated with how the administration is handling the war, that no one wants to have a real conversation about ways to move forward and our brave men and women overseas are being played like a political ping pong ball.

[14] Following her term in Congress, Boyda was named by President Barack Obama as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower and Personnel at The Pentagon, and was sworn into the position on July 20, 2009.

[18] Boyda withdrew from the race saying she would begin a non-profit to break partisan divide as opposed to running for the Senate.

[22] In 2007, Boyda talked with protestors during a public appearance in Lawrence, Kansas after she voted to provide additional funds for America's troops serving in the Iraq War.

During that period, she also stated, "I do believe that marriage is between a man and a woman" and voted with 39 other moderate Democrats in 2008 for an amendment that pulled back domestic partner benefits to public employees in the District of Columbia.

If elected, I will consistently vote to respect and protect the right to privacy no matter what our current activist Supreme Court does.