ICYMI: 4 NEW Democratic Doctors & Health Care Professionals Launch Congressional Campaigns

Four new Democratic doctors and health care professionals launched their congressional campaigns in the past week. Following the passage of Republicans’ budget bill that cuts one trillion dollars from Medicaid and takes health care away from 17 million Americans, more doctors and health leaders are running for office. This includes: Dr. Jasmeet Bains (CA-22); Kisha Askins (NE-02); Dr. Dave Oxman (PA-03); and Dr. Ada Cuellar (TX-15). Earlier this year, 314 Action launched the Guardian of Public Health campaign, announcing our commitment to investing over $25 million to elect 100 new doctors in office by 2030.

“Health care will be the defining issue of the 2026 midterms. We need health care experts in Congress to fight to restore and protect health care for the American people. While Republicans are selling out their constituents, Democratic doctors are answering the call,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, President of 314 Action Fund. “With unprecedented attacks on health care, 314 Action Fund’s mission to elect doctors and scientists is more urgent than ever and we’re ready to support these crucial races flip the House.”

Read some of the coverage below:

Dr. Jasmeet Bains (CA-22)

Bakersfield Now: Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains announces Congress bid in California's 22nd District

[Lena Folke, 07/16/25]

“I’m a doctor, not a career politician — and I’ve spent my life on the frontlines, listening to Valley families and fighting for their health, their safety, and their future,” said Dr. Bains. “I’m running for Congress because our communities deserve better than broken promises and backroom deals, and my community is tired of getting left behind. We deserve a representative who will actually show up, and stand up, for the Valley.”

Dr. Bains is a family and addiction doctor who serves as the Central Valley's Chief Medical Officer for the California Medical Assistance team, which organizes emergency health services across the state.

“David Valadao doesn’t work for us — he works for the donors and D.C. insiders who drive up drug prices and fund his campaigns as families here are rationing care,” said Dr. Bains. “In the middle of an affordability crisis in the Central Valley, while our communities struggle to afford care, food, or clean water, Valadao just voted to gut Medi-Cal that provides 68% of the affordable healthcare in our community, jack up prescription drug prices, and cut off food assistance for thousands of hardworking folks. That’s not leadership — that’s betrayal.”

CalMatters: One of California’s most vulnerable Republicans just got a new challenger

[Maya C. Miller, 07/16/25]

Dr. Jasmeet Bains, a Bakersfield assemblymember, hopes to harness voter outrage at Valadao’s decision to support President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy bill, which experts say could strip health insurance from millions of low-income Californians. Nearly 290,000 residents in his own district are at risk of losing coverage, according to the California Budget and Policy Center.

Bains said several patients at her family clinic have encouraged her to run to “do something” about the rising costs of health care and the lack of access to physicians.

The Sacramento Bee: Central Valley Democrat Dr. Jasmeet Bains challenges Rep. David Valadao

[Nicole Nixon, 07/17/25]

Democratic state lawmaker and physician Jasmeet Bains will challenge Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, for his Central Valley congressional seat, she announced Wednesday morning.

Bains ripped Valadao for supporting President Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill despite the four-term congressman saying he would not support large-scale cuts to Medicaid.

“As a doctor, I took an oath to take care of everyone,” she said. “David Valadao just voted for the largest cut to healthcare in history to give tax breaks to billionaires and Wall Street, even after he admitted this bill threatens access to care and jeopardizes our hospitals.”

Kishla Askins (NE-02)

KETV: Retired Naval Officer Kishla Askins enters race for 2nd Congressional District

[Tyler Rinkol, 07/18/25]

Askins is a retired naval officer and health care provider who served for 30 years. She currently lives in Omaha.

KETV Newswatch 7 spoke with Askins on Thursday. Askins said she's ready to protect Nebraskans and is focused on preserving health care.

"We want healthy Nebraskans. We want them to be able to have the best quality of life, to have the best shot at the good life," Askins said.

Nebraska Examiner: Retired Navy veteran Kishla Askins joins Nebraska 2nd District U.S. House race

[Juan Salinas II, 07/15/25]

Retired U.S. Navy veteran Kishla Askins, a former deputy assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Joe Biden, is running to be the first Democrat to represent the district in nearly a decade.

“I am the only one ready on day one,” Askins told the Nebraska Examiner. “I am the only one who can walk into Congress and understand how Congress works.”

Askins said her focus in Congress would be on improving health care, affordable housing, education and national security. She said people in the 2nd District are concerned about the recent GOP mega bill, the one President Donald Trump called the “big beautiful bill” and its “cuts” to the social safety net.

Omaha World-Herald: Veteran, federal policy pro Kishla Askins running for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District

[Josh Reyes, 07/15/25]

Kishla Askins enlisted in the Navy and eventually retired as an officer. In that time, she worked as a paramedic, a corpsman and a Marine Corps physician assistant, serving in Iraq and in support of Afghanistan.

She said she has experience building coalitions and relationships, and that background will help her form policy and address concerns she’s heard from Nebraskans about chaos at the federal level, the economy and health care.

“The Americans I served with didn’t always look the same or vote the same, but we never wavered in our commitment to our country. I know what sacrifice looks like, and I know what leadership requires. And I know Nebraskans deserve a real shot at the good life,” Askins stated in her campaign announcement.

Dr. Dave Oxman

Philadelphia Inquirer: Meet Dave Oxman, the Philly doctor running for Congress who says healthcare is ‘broken as hell’

[Julia Terruso, 07/10/25]

Dave Oxman has never run for office before. The intensive-care physician and medical school professor at Thomas Jefferson University has spent his career taking care of critically ill Philadelphians.

Now, he’s running as a largely unknown candidate in Pennsylvania’s Third Congressional District, a race that has already drawn in State Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democrat from Mount Airy, and State Sen. Sharif Street, a Democrat from North Philadelphia. Both lawmakers have served in Harrisburg for several terms, and Street is the state Democratic Party chair.

But Oxman, 58, of Bella Vista, has raised nearly $300,000 for his campaign already, not a small sum for a first-time candidate. He’s pitching himself as the unelected outsider in a crowded 2026 Democratic primary field where he hopes his background in medicine can be an asset.

Oxman said he will make improving the nation’s healthcare system — and pushing back against the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration — his campaign’s top priority. He calls the nation’s system “broken as hell” in a video announcing his candidacy, in which he is dressed in medical scrubs.

“I’ve spent my entire career caring for people from all walks of life — it shouldn’t be surprising that someone with my background now feels they have the opportunity and duty to do something more."

Philadelphia Today: This Philly Doctor is Throwing His Name in Race for Pennsylvania Congressional Seat

[Jensen Toussaint, 07/17/25]

Oxman’s decision to run has a lot to do with what he has experienced working in the medical field.

More specifically, he wants to improve the nation’s healthcare system.

“America has the greatest healthcare in the world, but what does it matter when so many Americans can’t access it or face financial ruin when they do?” Oxman said in the video announcing his candidacy.

In addition, running for office affords him an opportunity to do even more.

Dr. Ada Cuellar

KRGV: Harlingen doctor challenges Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz for congressional seat

A doctor based out of Harlingen has announced she is running against Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz for the 15th Congressional District seat.

Dr. Ada Cuellar, an emergency room physician, made the announcement on Thursday.

According to a news release, Cuellar is running a campaign on the belief that every U.S. American deserves access to quality health care, a strong public education system and an economy that works for working people.

The news release said she became an emergency medicine doctor in the Rio Grande Valley to give back to the community that raised her and improve the lives of South Texans.

Texas Tribune: Harlingen doctor becomes first Democrat to challenge GOP Rep. Monica De La Cruz for South Texas congressional seat

[Gabby Birenbaum, 07/17/25]

Ada Cuellar, a Harlingen-based emergency physician, launched her campaign for Texas’ 15th Congressional District on Thursday, becoming the first Democrat to run for the South Texas seat that her party is targeting in the 2026 midterms.

Cuellar, a 43-year-old Rio Grande Valley native, believes Latino voters, in particular, were looking for change last cycle as they felt the bite of high costs fueled by inflation. She believes Democrats can position themselves as the party of change in 2026, especially on issues like health care, after Republicans including De La Cruz voted for Medicaid cuts as part of Trump’s recently enacted megabill.

“People are frustrated with health care costs, inflation, the economy, how difficult it is to succeed,” Cuellar said. “And I think a lot of frustrations were directed towards the Democratic Party.”