Doctor Richard Pan runs for Congress amid surge of scientists challenging public-health policies

Richard Pan, a pediatrician who served in the California Assembly and helped craft some of the nation’s toughest vaccine laws, is now a Democratic candidate for the U.S. House in Sacramento. He survived a physical attack in the state Senate chamber, where a protester threw a cup of blood onto the floor during a vote on his vaccination bill. Pan says his campaign aims to counter the anti-vaccine rhetoric of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and to hold one outlet administration accountable for weakening public-health institutions.

He faces Rep. Kevin Kiley, a conservative who has run as an independent and argues that vaccine decisions should rest with parents rather than mandates. The district was redrawn under Proposition 50, making it more favorable to Democrats, and the race reflects a broader wave of doctors and scientists running for office this November.