At least 58 physicians, nurses and other clinicians are running for governor or a Congressional office this year, according to a Becker’s review of campaign websites and primary results.
Here are 12 things to know:
1. The group includes 29 physicians, 16 nurses, four pharmacists and four dentists. The other five include a veterinarian, an emergency medical technician, a psychologist by training, a licensed professional counselor and a former rehabilitation therapist.
2. Forty-six candidates are running for the U.S. House, eight are running for the Senate and four for governor. Twenty-eight are incumbents seeking reelection; 30 are challengers or running for open seats.
3. The group splits nearly evenly by party: 27 Republicans, 25 Democrats and six Libertarian, independent or No Labels candidates. Physicians are almost even, with 15 Republicans and 14 Democrats. Nurses lean Democratic, 10 to 3. All four dentists are Republicans.
4. Congress is losing some of its best-known clinicians. Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, R-La., who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, lost his May primary. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., a pharmacist, lost a Senate primary; Rep. Neal Dunn, MD, R-Fla., is retiring; and Mark Green, MD, R-Tenn., resigned his House seat in 2025.
5. Abdul El-Sayed, MD, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s toss-up Senate race, has faced Republican criticism over his credentials: He earned a medical degree but did not complete a residency or obtain a license. However, 700 Michigan physicians have endorsed him, The Detroit News reported. He faces Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers.
6. Sen. Roger Marshall, MD, R-Kan., an OB-GYN, is in a tighter race than expected. Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a political analyst newsletter, moved Dr. Marshall’s contest against Democrat Adam Hamilton to toss-up Oct. 14.
7. Two physicians could hold governorships next year. Gov. Josh Green, MD, D-Hawaii, is seeking reelection. In Ohio, the Democrat, former state health director Amy Acton, MD, faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in a race Cook Political Report rates a toss-up.
8. Two other physicians are running for Senate: pediatrician Annie Andrews, MD, a Democrat challenging Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, and pediatric anesthesiologist Mike Katz, MD, a Republican and former Democratic state senator, challenging Sen. Chris Coons in Delaware.
9. A nurse is running in one of the most competitive House races. Rep. Jen Kiggans, MSN, RN, R-Va., who led a bipartisan bill to extend enhanced ACA subsidies for a year, faces Elaine Luria, who is running to reclaim her seat in a toss-up rematch. Two Democrat nurse challengers, Mitchell Berman, RN, in Wisconsin and Kristina Knickerbocker, NP, in Ohio, are in races rated Lean Republican.
10. Three physician House races are rated competitive: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, MD, R-Iowa, in a Lean Democrat race; Amish Shah, MD, a Democrat running for an open seat in Arizona rated Lean Democrat; and Ralph Alvarado, MD, a Republican and former Tennessee health commissioner, running for an open seat in Kentucky rated Lean Republican.
11. Their platforms span the political spectrum. Dr. El-Sayed, Rep. Maxine Dexter, MD, D-Ore., and New Jersey House candidate Adam Hamawy, MD, back single-payer or Medicare for All. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, MD, R-Tenn., and Georgia House candidate John Cowan, MD, are campaigning on replacing or fixing the ACA.
12. Some priorities cross party lines. Candidates in both parties want faster prior authorization, from Dr. Marshall’s Medicare Advantage bill to Mr. Berman’s call for insurer decisions “in days, not weeks.” Rural hospitals appear in platforms from Rep. Mike Kennedy, MD, R-Utah, to Dr. Andrews, and nearly every clinician candidate lists lowering drug costs.
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