Doctors Win Seats in Congress as Democrats Gain in 2026 Midterms
Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, won the U.S. Senate race in South Carolina in the November 4, 2026, election. NPR reported that she will be the first practicing physician Democrat to serve in the Senate since 1938.
Andrews's win is one of several by doctors in the midterm elections. All four physicians now in the Senate are Republicans. Two Republican senators, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Roger Marshall of Kansas, lost their bids for reelection. With Andrews and another winner, Republicans and Democrats will each have an equal number of physicians in the Senate, according to NPR.
The other Senate winner is Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, an epidemiologist, who was elected in Michigan. El-Sayed trained as a physician but did not complete a residency, the hospital training that follows medical school. He did not practice medicine and instead pursued public health.
In the House, Democrats Dr. Adam Hamawy of New Jersey and pediatrician Dr. Richard Pan of California won election to join the six-member Democratic doctors' caucus. Hamawy is a former U.S. Army surgeon. Republican neurosurgeon Dr. John Cowan was elected in Georgia. At least two incumbents in the Republican doctors' caucus in the House lost their seats, NPR reported.
In Ohio, Dr. Amy Acton, a former director of the state's health department, was projected to defeat Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the governor's race. Separately, Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former U.S. senator, won back a Senate seat in Ohio, defeating Republican incumbent Jon Husted.
Democrats won control of Congress in the midterms, according to Reuters. Shares of health insurers and hospitals rose on November 4 after the Democratic win, Reuters reported in a separate story.
Democratic doctors ran in the 2026 midterms hoping to combat anti-science policies under President Donald Trump, Al Jazeera reported before the vote.
Much of the Democratic doctors' support came through 314 Action, a group that backs progressive candidates with science backgrounds. Its president, Shaughnessy Naughton, said the group put more than $30 million into dozens of Democratic state and federal candidates this year, including 48 physicians. Those figures were reported by NPR.
When the 120th Congress is seated, NPR reported, at least 18 physicians will serve, 10 of them Democrats.
