Politics
Pediatrician's Senate run highlights effort to elect more medical professionals
Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is contesting the South Carolina Senate race as a political action fund aims to elect 100 doctors by 2030.
The short version
- Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews is running for the US Senate in South Carolina in a race reshaped by the unexpected death of Senator Lindsey Graham.
- Andrews is backed by 314 Action, a political action fund seeking to build a pipeline of talent by electing at least 100 doctors to state and federal offices by 2030.
- Advocates argue that electing medical professionals brings trust and fact-based problem solving to government, though candidates with scientific backgrounds face high campaign costs and historically low win rates.
Key facts
- Democratic pediatrician Annie Andrews, who has practiced medicine for 20 years, is running for the US Senate in South Carolina following the unexpected death of Senator Lindsey Graham.[The Guardian]
- South Carolina voters selected Senator Graham's sister, Darline Graham, as the Republican candidate to face Andrews in November after persuasion from Donald Trump.[The Guardian]
- The political action fund 314 Action reached an initial fundraising target of $25 million in August, aiming to elect 100 doctors to office by 2030.[The Guardian]
- Hawaii Governor Josh Green, an emergency physician, is currently the only doctor-governor in the United States and is mentoring candidates through 314 Action.[The Guardian]
- There are currently 20 physicians serving in the US House and Senate, but only six of the House representatives are Democrats, and there are no Democratic doctors in the Senate.[The Guardian]
- Academic research indicates that STEM candidates in the 2018 midterms had a low win rate of about 12%, often hindered by high campaign costs and personal student debt.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether the heightened salience of public health issues will translate into higher victory rates for medical and scientific candidates.[The Guardian]