Annie Andrews (pediatrician)
American physician (born 1981)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anne Elizabeth Lintzenich Andrews (née Lintzenich; born 1981) is an American pediatrician and political candidate who is the Democratic nominee for the 2026 United States Senate election in South Carolina.
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1981 (age 45)
Annie Andrews | |
|---|---|
Andrews in 2026 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anne Elizabeth Lintzenich 1981 (age 45) Paducah, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Charlie Andrews
(m. 2011, divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | |
| Website | Campaign website |
Andrews was running against incumbent Republican senator Lindsey Graham until his death on July 11. She now faces his sister, Darline Graham, in the general election. The winner of the race will be the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate.
Andrews was the Democratic nominee for South Carolina's 1st congressional district in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections and lost to Representative Nancy Mace. She was a professor of pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.
Early life and education
Anne Elizabeth Lintzenich was born in 1981[1][2] in Paducah, Kentucky, and grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, her master's degree in clinical research from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and her M.D. from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. She also completed a master's degree in clinical research after starting work at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital.[3]
Medical career
Andrews completed her medical residency in pediatrics in Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving to South Carolina's Lowcountry in 2009. She worked for 14 years at MUSC Children's Hospital in Charleston,[4] as a pediatric hospitalist.[5] She announced in September 2022, while running for Congress, that she was taking an unpaid leave "to protect myself and my colleagues".[3] She resigned in June 2023.[6]
As of mid-2025, Andrews worked part-time as a pediatrician in Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., but lived in Charleston.[7]
2022 U.S. House of Representatives campaign
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Andrews became interested in political activism after the Parkland high school shooting in 2018, which convinced her to join the gun safety advocacy group Moms Demand Action.[8] She began doing clinical research into gun violence prevention to reduce the number of pediatric injuries from firearms. She described gun violence prevention as directly related to her work as a pediatrician.[2] She announced her candidacy for South Carolina's 1st congressional district in November 2021; it was her first time running for political office.[9][10] She won the Democratic nomination in June 2022 after running unopposed.[11]
In September, Mace began running campaign ads accusing Andrews of engaging in "child abuse" by providing gender-affirming care and surgery to minors. In a statement, Andrews responded: "I knew politics would be ugly but I never thought I'd see the day when my own congresswoman would accuse me—a pediatrician for over a decade—of 'child abuse' [...] I do not support gender-affirming surgery for anyone under 18—nor does my hospital perform those procedures. What I support is evidence-based medical care, with parental consent, for teens struggling with gender identity issues [...] Her vicious and disgusting attacks against me and LGBTQ kids puts them at an increased risk of targeted attacks and self-harm behaviors."[12] Andrews also said that because of the ads, she would begin taking unpaid leave from her job as a pediatrician at MUSC Children's Hospital and would increase her personal security while she considered legal action, citing threats made against doctors earlier that year, including a bomb threat against the Boston Children's Hospital.[13]
In October, Andrews was endorsed by the editorial board of the Charleston City Paper.[14]
Andrews lost the general election on November 8, receiving 42.5% of the vote to Mace's 56.5%. She called Mace to concede soon afterward, and Mace responded by thanking her for "stepping into the arena". Andrews said she was unsure where her political career would go next, but that her candidacy had encouraged more medical professionals to follow in her footsteps by running for elected office.[15][16]
In April 2023, Andrews announced the creation of a PAC called "Their Future. Our Vote".[17][18]
2026 U.S. Senate campaign
On May 29, 2025, Andrews announced her candidacy for the United States Senate in 2026, aiming to unseat incumbent Republican senator Lindsey Graham.[19][20] She said she decided to run for Senate after President Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health.[21]
Andrews is endorsed by former Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, who ran against Graham in 2020.[22] She is also endorsed by the 314 Action Fund,[23] EMILYs List,[24] the JAC, and Vote Mama.[25]
On June 9, 2026, Andrews won the Democratic nomination, and was expected to face Graham.[26][27] On July 11, Graham died,[28] and on August 25 his sister, Darline, was elected as his replacement in a runoff.[29]
Personal life
In 2011, Andrews married Charlie Andrews, a neurological critical care doctor at MUSC. They have three children.[2] The two have since divorced.[30][better source needed]