SC-01 Candidate Profile: Dr. Annie Andrews

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Lowcountry pediatrician is looking to go from the hospital to the Hill as she works to unseat SC-01’s incumbent Representative Nancy Mace (R).

Dr. Annie Andrews (D) is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston and practicing physician at Shawn Jenkin’s Children’s Hospital.

Andrews received her MD from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed her residency in Pediatrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

She now lives in Mount Pleasant with her husband, who is a Neurological Critical Care doctor at MUSC, and her three children.

Andrews announced her intent to run for office in November of 2021 with a campaign ad focusing on the need for lawmakers to protect children. Her website echoes that sentiment, with a statement reading in part:

“I see children who go to bed hungry, children who sit in under-funded schools with under-paid teachers, children who don’t have access to the internet in their homes, children who hear gunshots on the street as they try to fall asleep at night, children whose parents are terrified that their hospital bill will plunge them into poverty. I believe it is my duty as a pediatrician and community member to advocate for these children and their families. It was never part of my plan to run for Congress. I love being a doctor. But I am frustrated with the politics in Washington, DC.”

On the issues:

Andrews’ campaign website identifies 10 major issues which she plans to address, the top three of which are infrastructure and flooding, healthcare, and gun violence.

Infrastructure and flooding:

Andrews believes that the Lowcountry faces “unique challenges” which stem from “unprecedented growth, a booming port, climate change causing sea level rise, and near-constant flooding.”

She says the Lowcountry needs resilient and modern infrastructure solutions, which will require a non-partisan approach to fund. Andrews believes the Lowcountry is “in desperate need of federal support” and vows to “fight for every penny… to modernize and rebuild the Lowcountry’s roads, bridges, ports, high-speed internet, and overall infrastructure resiliency.”

Healthcare:

As a medical professional, Andrews says that access to and affordability of healthcare are issues she takes personally. She has frequently watched families who are dealing with a sick or injured loved one take on the added burden of dealing with insurance companies or lack of coverage.

Andrews supports the Affordable Care Act, which she said had a visible “direct, positive effect” on Lowcountry residents “almost immediately.” However, she feels that there is more work to be done. Andrews says that she will work to “put every American’s health over profits for insurance and pharmaceutical companies.”

Gun violence:

Gun violence is another problem that Andrews says she has come to take personally after working as a pediatrician. However, she is careful to separate what she sees as a public health crisis from an attack on the second amendment.

“I support the second amendment. If you are a law-abiding gun-owner, I have no interest in your guns. Frankly, I have never been particularly interested in a conversation about guns, but I am interested in a conversation about bullet holes in children, and what we can do to prevent them.”

She feels that congress has failed to pass gun laws strict enough to protect children and is a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Andrews supports the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, but wants more federal red flag laws and raising the minimum age to purchase an assault weapon to 21.

Andrews will face off with Mace in the only debate before the election Wednesday night at 8:00 p.m. on WCBD News 2.