Rob Davidson, an emergency physician from western Michigan, had never considered running for Congress. Then came the town hall meeting in early 2017 that Davidson decided to attend. The 46-year-old Democrat found himself going one-on-one with Rep. Bill Huizenga, his Republican congressman for six years.
“I told him about my patients,” Davidson recalled. “I see, every shift, some impact of not having adequate health care, not having dental insurance or a doctor at all.”
His comments triggered cheers from the audience but didn’t seem to register with Huizenga, a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act. And that got Davidson thinking.
“I’ve always been very upset . . . about patients who can’t get health care,” he said. Yet it never inspired him to act. Until last summer, that is, when the political novice joined what is now at least eight other Democratic physicians running as first-time candidates in congressional races across the country.
Their party hopes to gain control of the House and Senate by harnessing what polls show to be voters’ dissatisfaction with Capitol Hill and President Trump. The president maintains strong support among Republicans but registers low approval ratings among Americans overall, according to most recent polls. Polling also suggests that health care is among voters’ top concerns as midterm elections approach.
Davidson remains a long shot in November; analysts list Michigan’s 2nd Congressional District as solidly Republican. Nonetheless, Democrats see promise in such candidates given their very different experience.
