ADPAC: 2016 Election Update

By Susan L. Wood, D.D.S.

With the intense focus of a presidential election year, it is easy to forget that each member of the U.S. House of Representatives is up for reelection in 2016 (as they are every two years). As always, ADPAC is working to give dentistry a voice in the federal government by backing candidates who are committed to supporting dental professionals and improving oral health.

ADPAC is supporting the reelection campaigns of the three dentists who currently serve in the U.S. House of Representatives: U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson, D.M.D. (ID-02), Paul Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), and Brian Babin, D.D.S. (TX-36). In addition, ADPAC supports two dentists who are running for Congress. Yesterday, Dr. Drew Ferguson was victorious in a runoff election for the Republican nomination to the open seat in Georgia’s heavily Republican third Congressional District. On August 26, Dr. Fred Costello faces a Republican primary battle in Florida’s sixth Congressional district against the incumbent, Rep. Ronald DeSantis, and G.G. Galloway.

AAE member Dr. Dennis J. Zent ran unopposed in his primary race for reelection to his seat in the Indiana House of Representatives. While ADPAC does not support state races financially, Dr. Zent, a former co-chair of ADPAC, credits his participation in ADPAC for providing much of his political education and inspiration to run for public office.

As the AAE’s representative to the ADPAC Board, I often get questions about ADPAC’s mission and how the organization makes decisions about funding candidates. This ADPAC graphic does a great job of answering those questions and explaining how your contributions to ADPAC make an impact on dentistry. The AAE encourages our members to support ADPAC to ensure that our interests are represented in Washington.

Dr. Susan L. Wood is a partner at Phoenix Endodontic Group in Phoenix, Arizona. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and serves on the Foundation for Endodontics Board of Trustees.