A West Michigan doctor wishes to trade in his scrubs for a seat in Congress. <\/p>\n
Jaleesa Irizarry, WZZM 11:19 PM. EDT June 04, 2017 <\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has an early challenger in the 2018 election:Rob Davidson, an ER doctor who challenged the congressman on health care at an earlier town hall event. <\/p>\n
GRAND HAVEN, MICH. - A West Michigan emergency room doctor who squared off with a congressman at an earlier town hall event says he's ready to challenge him for his seat. <\/p>\n
Rob Davidson has worked in an ER for 16 years but he says after this November election, he needed to stand up for his beliefs. He's already is raising money as a Democratic candidate against U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland. <\/p>\n
WZZM 13 first interviewed Davidson in February at a Huizengatown hall event in Baldwin, Mich. <\/p>\n
\"My concern is 10-15 years from now, these people have heart attacks and strokes that perhaps could have been prevented if they had the access that they needed,\" he said minutes before the town hall.The West Michigan man debated with the Republican congressman during that event. <\/p>\n
\"I had a question and we had a little mini debate on health care and a lot of people just spontaneously started asking me, 'Why don't you run?'\"After that day, Davidson started strongly considering it. A few months ago, he decided to turn his fight for health care into a campaign to challengeHuizenga in the 2018 congressional election. <\/p>\n
\"I see a lack of fairness and the ability for people to get health care,\" Davidson said Sunday, June 4, at a healthcare rally.At that February town hall,Huizenga said there some good things about the Affordable Care Act, but it needed to be repealed. <\/p>\n
\"I have made a commitment to things like pre-existing conditions should not be a disqualifier, a lifetime cap should not be a disqualifier, a number of other things that we think are positives in that and we're going to try and make sure those are in there,\" Huizenga said in February. <\/p>\n
\"It just has to be a system where those of us who consume healthcare, as patients, have more understanding of the true costs and have more input as to what our decisions are.\" <\/p>\n
Huizenga voted for that repeal in May showing support for the GOP health care bill, saying, in part,in a press release: \"...The American Health Care Act provides the relief countless families across West Michigan have been asking for...\" <\/p>\n
\"The American Healthcare Act was really a tax-cut for the wealthiest disguised as a healthcare bill and they paid for it by kicking 24 million people off of Medicaid,\" Davidson said. <\/p>\n
Besides health care, Davidson hopes to advocate for education as well. He says he plants to hold events for his campaign in the future. <\/p>\n
We reached out to Huizenga's campaign for a response to the news of a challenger. <\/p>\n
They sent WZZM 13 the following statement: \"Bill was reelected by a two to one margin just 8 months ago. For now he's focused on policies to create jobs, protect life, and serve the constituents of the 2nd District. <\/p>\n
\"While it's no surprise a liberal candidate has announced, Bill has a job to do to and is focused on making West Michigan an even better place to live, work, and raise a family.\" <\/p>\n
Makeit easy to keep up to date with more stories like this.Download theWZZM13 app now. <\/p>\n
Have a news tip? Emailnews@wzzm13.com<\/a>, visit ourFacebookpage orTwitter. <\/p>\n 2017 WZZM-TV <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Follow this link: <\/p>\n After health care debate, ER doctor runs against US Rep. Bill Huizenga - WZZM<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A West Michigan doctor wishes to trade in his scrubs for a seat in Congress. Continue reading