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Washington — Voters elected five ADA members to the 117th Congress.
Incumbent Reps. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho 2nd; Paul Gosar, R-Arizona 4th; Brian Babin, R-Texas 36th; Drew Ferguson, R-Georgia 3rd; and Jeff Van Drew, R-New Jersey 2nd; will continue serving in the House of Representatives when Congress convenes in January.
A sixth dental candidate, Gary Wegman, D.M.D., ran as a Democrat in Pennsylvania’s 9th district and received more than 30% of the votes, but did not win the House seat. Dr. Wegman is from Exeter, Penn.
Dr. Simpson was elected to his 12th term in Congress with more than 60% of his district's votes. For his sixth term, Dr. Gosar received 70% of the vote and Dr. Babin received about 74% of the votes for his fourth term. Dr. Ferguson, who is also the Republican chief deputy whip, received 65% for his third term, and Dr. Van Drew received 52% for his second term. All percentages are based on numbers from the New York Times.
The American Dental Political Action Committee supported the campaigns of the six candidates, all general dentists. During the 2020 election cycle, ADPAC spent $1.35 million in supporting 325 candidates running for federal office.
Learn more about ADA advocacy in the ADA Legislative Action Center.