“HHS is not a place for science deniers or science skeptics,” Becerra told CNN earlier this year. “Why would you get rid of some of our best scientists and doctors and health professionals?
“I think it’s a prescription for a real disaster,” he added. “We deal with enough natural disasters, having to help with hurricanes, having to address pandemics, that’s bad enough. But when you put on top of that these man-made disasters, then you know that America’s health and America’s economy are at risk.”
The pandemic was also a major driver for many of the healthcare professionals now seeking office.
“They’ve been under heavy political fire and either survived it or have moved on and learned from it, and it’s made them that much stronger,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
Typically, public health leaders play a vital role that’s out of the spotlight. But the pandemic pushed many onto everyone’s television. For some, the attention brought death threats and hate mail, and a record number quit. Others emerged as local folk heroes.
Acton says she faced a handful of protesters at her home but mostly felt support from Ohioans, many of whom watched her daily briefings with DeWine, the Republican governor. During the pandemic, her image appeared on T-shirts and a mural, and a bobblehead ad quoted the Dayton Daily News describing her as “Ohio’s trusted face during the pandemic.” A 2020 New York Times editorial called Acton “the leader we wish we all had.”
“The love in this state was so much greater than any of the hate,” she said. “It was an honor to work alongside Gov. Mike DeWine. We were totally focused on saving lives, and we definitely put people’s health and well-being over politics.”
But it may be hard for public health leaders and doctors to win over voters aggrieved by pandemic-era vaccine policies, masking rules and shuttered schools and businesses.
“Especially on the Republican side, I think there’s a lot more distrust of the medical profession post-Covid,” said Woodrow Johnston, a political consultant for Republican politicians. “A lot of Republicans feel they were misled or even lied to when it came to government shutdowns.”
Polls show that Democrats have more confidence in scientists than Republicans. However, one Pew poll found that trust dipped during the pandemic and has ticked up more recently. Another 2026 Pew survey found that scientists are more trusted to act in the public interest than journalists, business leaders and elected officials.
Not everyone realizes how much political skill public health leaders must wield to win support for their solutions, Freeman says. The pandemic tested many of them.
“We serve everyone everywhere in every single community, no matter what their political leaning,” she said. “To have somebody with all of this wealth of experience in different areas would help all across the board, and not just health programs. Even just to help people understand that healthiness really drives economic prosperity.”
Johnston said he has helped more Republican candidates with medical or public health backgrounds win office lately. Such candidates can connect with certain voters.
“Sometimes, smart people like smart people,” Johnston said.
And their scientific expertise is needed, said Shields, the historian. Some problems are straightforward health issues, such as lack of access to care. Other problems are more existential: how to govern AI so it’s safe, how to find renewable energy and how to address the climate crisis.
“There’s so many issues that we’re facing where we need people with scientific expertise in the room,” he said.
Acton says that having health professionals in higher office can help people’s health, perhaps even more than an individual doctor can help a patient. She thinks of the average lifespan in the US: Advances in medicine and technology account for some improvements, but a lot of it’s also due to “things that we had to solve together.”
“It was things like clean water, safe food, child labor laws, public school for every kid, traffic safety laws – the list goes on and on,” Acton said. “That’s what government’s role is: a big catalyzer and convener.”
She said it was clear to her while working with DeWine during Covid-19 that the governor’s job was about protecting the health and well-being of everyone.
“Just like being a doctor, we’re for all patients. Being governor is actually about improving those social and economic and environmental determinants of our well-being and our prosperity,” Acton said. “It’s funny. You think of it as so different, but I really realized it’s actually exactly what I’ve been trained to do.”
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