San Francisco, California – Three words stretch across the front page of Richard Pan’s campaign website: “Public Health Hero”. The California paediatrician is part of a wave of public health professionals angling for a seat in the United States Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections. The American College of Gastroenterology has estimated that as many as 25 physicians could win congressional office this election cycle, a record number that would usher in "a new generation of physician-lawmakers".
But while many of the incumbents are Republicans, experts say there has been a notable rise in the number of Democratic doctors and healthcare workers on the ballot. Some are competing in the highest-profile races of the year. Abdul El-Sayed, a physician and former public health official, is locked in a close race for Michigan's open Senate seat.
In South Carolina, meanwhile, paediatrician Annie Andrews has turned what would normally be a safe Senate seat for Republicans into a battleground. Experts and advocacy groups credit the growing number of Democratic doctors-turned-politicians, in part, to frustration with Republican President Donald Trump. Democrats, they say, are tapping into public rage not only over rising healthcare costs but also Trump-era policies they see as anti-scientific.
We cannot just abandon the public forum to all of this misinformation, disinformation,” said Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist who founded Vax PAC, a political advocacy group that backs candidates who support responsible vaccine policies. Feigl-Ding sees the surge in political participation not as an act of partisanship but rather as a chance to advocate for responsible healthcare policies.
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