by Phil Galewitz, Christine Mai-Duc and Amanda Seitz, KFF Health News
A handful of former public health officials are campaigning for top statewide offices across the country, testing whether their experience with covid and other hot-button health issues will appeal to voters in November.
The officials, all Democrats, are running at a time when the Trump administration is reducing government funding for scientific research, restricting access to some vaccines, and making it more difficult for some Americans to obtain health insurance.
Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 3.14 Action, a political action committee that recruits Democratic candidates with science and health backgrounds, said it is unusual to see so many public health leaders running for office. “But it’s not surprising given the moment we are living in, with an arsonist running HHS working to undermine the vaccine schedule and public health at large,” she said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who disparaged public health measures implemented during the pandemic, going as far as calling the covid vaccine the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” Neither HHS nor the White House responded to requests for comment.
Several of the candidates benefit from name recognition built during the covid pandemic, political science scholars say, when daily news briefings from local health officials became must-see-TV for many citizens sheltering in place from the novel virus. But that cuts two ways. While many Americans regarded public health officials as offering prudent advice and a steady voice, others criticized them for pushing school closures, mask mandates, and new, quickly created vaccines.
National polls show healthcare is top of mind for many voters this year, with Democrats most worried about costs and Republicans about fraud. But that’s no guarantee of victory. Nirav Shah, an epidemiologist who led Maine’s top public health agency through the pandemic, lost a narrow Democratic primary in the state’s governor’s race in June.
Xavier Becerra, running for governor in California
Becerra, who served as HHS secretary under President Joe Biden, is the highest-ranking former health official now on the ballot. Leading the nation’s health department as the pandemic lingered, Becerra focused on expanding access to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid, overseeing record enrollment in the publicly financed programs during his tenure. He faced criticism over the placement of a massive influx of migrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border and his agency’s response to a baby formula shortage. Before HHS, Becerra served as California’s attorney general and sued the first Trump administration more than 100 times, leading a coalition of states defending the ACA. He has said he now wants to be California’s “healthcare governor.”
Amy Acton, running for governor in Ohio
Acton, a Democrat, led Ohio’s health department during the early days of the pandemic under Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and became a household name for her steady briefings. But she also attracted critics with her recommendations to stay at home, mask up, and shut down some businesses. Her Republican opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, has labeled her “Dr. Lockdown” on social media. Christopher Devine, a University of Dayton political science professor, called the attack “a double-edged sword, because she also really upset some people” — though it’s a tricky one for Ramaswamy to press since DeWine, a popular conservative figure, endorsed the covid measures Acton recommended and has said he takes responsibility for those actions.
Abdul El-Sayed, running for U.S. Senate in Michigan
El-Sayed, a progressive, is facing four-term congresswoman Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary; the winner would face Republican nominee Mike Rogers for the seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters. From 2015 to 2017, El-Sayed ran the Detroit Health Department, leading efforts to test Detroit schools for lead in the wake of the Flint water crisis and provide free eyeglasses to children. From 2022 to 2025, he ran the health department in Wayne County, the state’s most populous, where he initiated a program to retire medical debt for thousands of residents and made naloxone available in public areas to reverse opioid overdoses. El-Sayed told KFF Health News his public health experience helped him become an effective communicator.
This story was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF Health News.