Steve Ferrara, MD: First Radiologist to Win Congressional Election

Steve Ferrara, MD, could be on his way to being the first radiologist in Congress.

The interventional radiologist secured 58.9 percent of the votes during Arizona’s primary on August 28 for District 9, a Democrat-held seat. He defeated GOP nominee Dave Giles by 9,483 votes. He’s considered to have raised more money than any other first time candidate in Arizona with over $1 million in campaign funds, including $245,000 cash on hand.

The 9th District includes the state’s capital, Phoenix, where Hillary Clinton won during the 2016 presidential elections. On November 6, he will face democrat Greg Stanton, the city’s former mayor. Kyrsten Sinema has served as the district’s congresswoman since 2012, and she just won the Democratic ticket for the senate race.

Ferrara was a captain in the U.S. Navy and chief medical officer from 2013 to 2015. He also spent six years as the diagnostic radiology residency program director at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. In addition, he has worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital and on Capitol Hill as a health policy fellow.

Healthcare has been a major facet of Ferrara’s campaign. He plans on improving Medicaid and stabilizing the insurance markets. He has called the Affordable Care Act “anything but affordable.” He intends on fixing the VA hospital system and wants to “put patients first, not special interest groups.”