Public Health-Focused Leaders Win US Midterm Elections
The American people are speaking out against President Trump and the policies that he’s been rolling out since the day he took office,
said Julie Scofield, a member of the coordinating committee at the grassroots organization Defend Public Health.
I think it’s a complete repudiation.
Public health leaders and politicians who made healthcare a central part of their platforms swept into office in the US midterm elections, setting the stage for changes at the national, state and local levels. Voters faced issues including an unprecedented rise in vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, foodborne illness outbreaks, healthcare affordability, reproductive health, and the impeachment of Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Draining the swamp is a mandate, and we have an obligation to deliver. Entrenched interests have exercised power in Washington under both parties for decades. President Trump and I intend to keep fighting until the American people—not corporate influence—drive our health…
Scientists and physicians won elections in record numbers, changing policies in areas affected by measles outbreaks and helping Democrats flip state houses and legislatures.
Annie Andrews won election as the first pediatrician in the US Senate, campaigning on the impeachment of Kennedy, the health and human services secretary, and advocating for improved vaccination rates following a measles outbreak in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Jasmine Clark, a microbiologist from Georgia, secured a seat in the US House, and Jon Ossoff won re-election to the Senate.
In Ohio and Michigan, governor-elect Amy Acton and senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed emerged victorious despite their opponents attempting to use their Covid response public health leadership against them. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms won election as the first Black woman ever elected governor of a US state.
The leadership changes are poised to reshape actions concerning abortion, gender-affirming care, and vaccines. Successful candidates argued that rising healthcare prices and cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program had harmed the country.