Our View: Elect Dr. Annie Andrews to Congress

If there’s one thing the Lowcountry needs, it’s less drama. That, in and of itself, is an outstanding reason to elect Dr. Annie Andrews to represent voters in the First Congressional District.

But she’s the right prescription in Congress for another big reason — she’s committed to make headway, not headlines, on issues important to the region where her opponent is out of step. Rather than being cagey and political about abortion, Andrews, a pediatrician, minces no words — she’s a firm believer in a woman’s right to make decisions about her body. As she clearly says in a recent television advertisement: “I’ll fight to restore a woman’s right to choose. Because we’ve come too far to go back.”

Andrews, a Mount Pleasant mother of three, jumped into the congressional race to push for reasonable ways to reduce gun violence, the effects of which she says she sees too often in her practice at the Medical University of South Carolina. In another memorable ad, she likened a bullet from a gun to an eraser: “As a doctor, I’ve seen it erase 10th birthdays, family vacations, school dances and so much more. Because guns are erasing our kids.”

Beyond issues, voters from Charleston to Hilton Head Island should elect Andrews because of her zeal to put children, not political games, at the top of Washington’s agenda.

In a July profile in the City Paper, Andrews said she decided to run for Congress after she realized she could do more to help children and make things safer for them through representative advocacy in Washington than by treating individual patients. “Why isn’t it everyone’s priority to do what’s best for kids?” she asked. “It seems to be obvious to me.”

She also pledged to take an approach in Congress that put science before rhetoric. “Every decision I make in health care is data-inspired,” she said in July. “Treatment is based on data. If our laws were based on data, we could do so much good. It’s a totally different approach to problem-solving.”

Dr. Annie Andrews is the kind of refreshing leader that the Lowcountry needs in Congress. We heartily endorse her candidacy and urge you to vote for her Nov. 8.

Also on the ballot for some in the Lowcountry is congressional legend Jim Clyburn, the third most powerful Democratic leader in the United States House of Representatives.

Simply put, the Lowcountry has no better friend in Congress than Clyburn. That, in and of itself, is why he must be reelected. Clyburn has a clear record of delivering, not only for the Lowcountry, but for the state of South Carolina. He’s steady, solid and passionate about improving our state, nation and democracy. We are lucky to have him in Washington and we need to make sure he remains there for us.

On Nov. 8, vote to send Andrews to Washington for the first time and to keep Clyburn in office to allow him to keep working his congressional magic.