Move People and People Will Move Mountains: A Post-Election Letter
Following the 2026 elections, we reflect on the power of organizing, physician advocacy, and the work still ahead.
Greetings PRH colleagues, community members, and partners,
There is so much that can and should be said last night—so much of which won’t even become evident until the days, weeks and months that follow. But for now, I want to share a few thoughts.
The political pundits are stating that we have arrived at a destination that for so long felt perpetually out of reach—that we could be at the beginning of the end of the Trump era.
I want to say out loud to all of us—so irreversibly scarred by the Trump hellscape we’ve been forced to live in—it’s okay to feel hope, to feel optimism, to imagine what might be possible despite and perhaps even because we were brought face to face with authoritarianism. In fact, I think to deny ourselves that hope would be to fail to honor our own work and the work of so many people who have spent years and decades, some who have literally given their lives, fighting to make this moment possible.
I want to say out loud to all of us—so irreversibly scarred by the Trump hellscape we’ve been forced to live in—it’s okay to feel hope…
Second, I want to spend a moment honoring the work that brought us to this moment. There will be stories told about tonight. Stories about how gas prices were too high, diesel was too expensive, and at the end of the day, peoples’ votes all came down to the cost of living.
And sure, there are grains of truth in that. But it hardly begins to tell the full story. Behind every frustration — whether it was the cost of living, the endless and blatant corruption, the ruthless violence of ICE, the profound disregard for people’s health and wellbeing, the promotion of junk science, the unrelenting attempts to rid folks of their bodily autonomy and dignity — there was someone helping turn that frustration into action. A neighbor, a teacher, a mama, an auntie, a grandma, a volunteer, a canvasser, a community organizer, a friend, a classmate, YOU. Someone having a conversation, building a relationship, connecting the dots, elevating political consciousness, reminding people of their history, helping people understand that they were not powerless in the face of what was happening around them. People didn’t just wake up and decide to profoundly change the course of history. They were brought into community. They were organized. They were shown a vision of something else. They were reminded of their own power. By the millions. The arc of the moral universe bends towards justice—not because of an inevitable gravitational pull, but because of the forcefield created by the back breaking work of millions, organizing in their communities.
People didn’t just wake up and decide to profoundly change the course of history. They were brought into community. They were organized.
Which brings me to the greatest lesson for our movements, one history has taught us time and time again—organizing and mobilizing is the only way forward. In the richest, most powerful country that this world has ever known, we have been confronted with the mayhem, degradation and violence of descending into authoritarianism, day in and day out. We have been confronted with the very real possibility that there was no way out anytime soon. Oligarchs, trillionaires with a vested interest in further retrenchment were pouring money into seemingly hopelessly gerrymandered elections.
These are very bad odds. AND YET—the people won.
Move people, and people will move mountains. For an organization with 600+ physicians across the country, and the potential to organize and absorb thousands more, the mandate could not be clearer. Organize as many public service-minded physicians as possible to concentrate and then dissipate the enormous political, economic, and social power they hold in service of reproductive justice.
Speaking of the political power of physician voices, seeing physicians like Dr. El-Sayed and Dr. Annie Andrews win is heartening. Dr. El-Sayed and Dr. Annie Andrews will be the first Democratic physicians in the Senate in nearly 90 years. This past election cycle saw the formation of the first Democratic doctor’s caucus in the House (despite a long-standing Republican doctors caucus). We live in a time defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, overturning of Roe v. Wade, MAHA, sky rocketing health care costs and Americans demanding a solution to the health insurance crisis. It is no surprise that social justice minded physicians and other health care professionals, who like teachers, firefighters and other public servants, are highly trusted members of their communities, are being recruited to run for office in droves—and winning. PRH has a real opportunity to help shape what that looks like. There may be no better time to establish a connected 501 (c)(4) which will grow our political power. We have trained countless physicians to become formidable advocates and their voices will be heard.
For an organization with 600+ physicians across the country, and the potential to organize and absorb thousands more, the mandate could not be clearer.
Third, for all the optimism I want us to allow ourselves to feel, I also want us to feel the moral call of the work before us of—and to be quite frank, the WORK of the work before us. Electoral victories are not the same thing as passing the laws and policies our communities deserve. Having more friends in Congress and state legislatures doesn’t mean our work is done. We all know this. Because of the hard work of our movements, we have a majority that will seriously consider federal abortion legislation. That will seriously consider expanding Medicare and Medicaid. But will folks who rely on public health insurance be able to access abortion care? Will immigrant communities be permitted to access public health insurance? Will federal abortion legislation have an arbitrary viability limit? The Democratic caucus is nowhere near aligned on gender affirming care, with Representative Don Davis (D-NC), Representative Vincent Gonzalez (D-TX), and (future) Senator Josh Turek (D-IA) as examples of Democratic members of Congress who have voted to criminalize gender affirming care providers for providing lifesaving, necessary health care.
Our advocacy must include meetings here in DC and state capitols, appealing to the better judgment of electeds and changing their hearts and minds. And also, we can and must organize physicians in their districts, to organize other physicians in their district, build relationships with constituents, and create the conditions in which bad votes by aforementioned electeds become politically untenable. Because another great lesson of history is that power does not concede without a demand.
I hope we spend some time basking in the post-election glow. And, I hope we let ourselves feel the possibility and electric energy of this moment. Because—it’s go time.
My best regards,