Democratic doctors on the ballot amid health policy changes

Doctors command the stage ahead of Election Day

Dozens of Democratic medical professionals are on the ballot for Congress and top state offices, a direct rebuke of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the massive changes to federal health policy being made by the Trump administration.

Some of the most high-profile races tomorrow are focused on physicians, including Abdul El-Sayed for Senate in Michigan, Amy Acton for governor of Ohio, and Annie Andrews for Senate in South Carolina — a pediatrician who launched her campaign with an ad focused on getting kids vaccinated against measles.

If either El-Sayed or Andrews win their respective races, they would be the first Democratic M.D.s in the Senate since 1969 ; Andrews would be the first practicing Democratic physician in nearly 90 years.

There are roughly the same number of non-incumbent doctors and nurses running in this year’s election cycle as there currently are in Congress; seven physicians and 14 nurses compared to the 24 doctors and nurses currently in office.

According to Celinda Lake, a Democratic political strategist and president of Lake Research Partners, Kennedy’s Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has spurred physicians to run for office.

“What MAHA has been good for is recruiting them, because so many of them see what’s going on and feel like they have to speak up. Because a lot of medical professionals have no desire to enter into politics, and this is a fairly new field for them. And I think what MAHA did was help energize them to run,” said Lake.

Health care is a major focus this election cycle, and numerous polls show Democrats have a significant trust advantage over Republicans.

Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action, a political strategy group that funds Democratic candidates with scientific backgrounds, said issues like abortion bans and “ an alchemist in charge of HHS putting out just tons of misinformation and disinformation” pushed many of her organization’s physician candidates into running.

“What I’ve heard from a lot of the doctors running is that they’ve come to the conclusion that there’s only so much they can accomplish from their exam rooms,” said Naughton. “And if they really want to make a difference at scale, this is the way to do it — is to take that very scary step to put your name out there and run for public office.”

And there are of course the incumbent GOP physicians seeking reelection as well, like Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), whose past billing practices as an OB-GYN have been used in attack ads against him by Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. The Kansas Senate race has become surprisingly tight in the run-up to election day, with President Trump holding two rallies in the state to boost Marshall’s reelection bid.

Welcome to The Hill’s Healthcare newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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