Dr. Annie Andrews career in politics can be traced back to tragedy.In 2018, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people, including 14 students. The tragedy moved Andrews, whose oldest daughter was in kindergarten that same year, to act. Related Rep. Becca Balint calls Republicans mean motherf**kers for their campaign against trans kids She called out the GOPs completely orchestrated anti-trans campaign, explained the fight against loneliness, and discussed meeting her wife. Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today The South Carolinian joined Moms Demand Action and used her voice as a pediatrician to advocate for gun safety laws in the State Capitol in Columbia.The more committee hearings I went to, the more times I testified, the more conversations I had with South Carolina state lawmakers, the more I realized that I was more than intelligent enough and more than brave enough to be in any room where decisions are being made, and that voices like mine need to be in rooms where those decisions are being made. Her advocacy erased any sort of imposter syndrome she had about entering the political arena, Andrews told LGBTQ Nation. In 2021, she decided to run for Congress.After a tough loss in 2022 to notorious transphobe Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) who accused her of child abuse in the particularly contentious race and a divorce from her husband, the 43-year-old mother of three is back in the arena to challenge Trump loyalist Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for his seat.Andrews spoke on a hot, sunny day from her adopted hometown of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.LGBTQ Nation: Since announcing your campaign for the U.S. Senate from South Carolina, you now have the distinction of running against two of the most high-profile right-wing members of Congress. What do Lindsey Graham and Nancy Mace have in common? And what did you learn from your campaign against Mace that youll use in your campaign against Graham? Dr. Annie Andrews: Thats a great question that no one has asked me before.I do like to say that I spent 12 months of my life running against Nancy Mace, which tells you I am not afraid of a fight. I am not afraid to throw punches when necessary, and I dont back down easily. If I can handle that woman for 12 months, I can handle Lindsey Graham for the next 17 months.I see them both as incredibly problematic members of the U.S. Congress. Lindsey Graham has been in the Senate for 22 years, which is half of my lifetime. When he was first elected, he had a great habit of reaching across the aisle and working to solve problems for South Carolinians in a bipartisan fashion. He was a John McCain Republican. I certainly didnt really agree with him on many policy positions, but I would have considered him a respectable member of the Senate. But we have seen him over those 22 years really abandon any moral standing. He had his integrity and dignity, but now hes just up there to do what he needs to do to get reelected and keep his corporate donors and his billionaire donors happy and to do the bidding of Donald Trump.And on that same note, Nancy Mace has been a chameleon her entire political career. She first got elected saying she was going to be this maverick going against the grain. Its a national embarrassment, honestly, to have her representing our congressional district. To be someone who ran against her and lost I mean, thats something I have to carry with me every day.But she is also someone who is absolutely in it for herself. Shes always just trying to get the next cable TV hit. She changes the words that come out of her mouth based on who shes talking to. Her social media presence is undignified and below the office of a member of Congress, and its really quite sad to watch. Honestly, I think she needs to take a step back from public life and work on herself. In the campaign video announcing your Senate run, you used some humor in making your case against Graham: banging your head on the dining room table after some clips demonstrating his obsequiousness to Trump was funny, and the glass of white wine was a nice touch. Im guessing that was a shout-out to working moms like yourself who occasionally need a drink amid all the chaos. You also call Graham full of s**t with an X-ray illustrating your point. But anger is whats driving a lot of Republicans to vote for their party lately. Are you a happy warrior, and will humor be key to getting Democrats to the polls?I love that framing, and yes, I would consider myself a happy warrior for many reasons.One is, I find humor and satire to be an incredibly effective way to point out the ridiculousness that comes from so many of our Republican lawmakers, including Lindsey Graham. I think its an incredibly effective way to cut through and to make a point, and I will continue to do that, because thats also who I am. Im not going to become some different person because Im now running for the U.S. Senate. Voters are looking for authentic human beings, and Im going to continue to authentically be me, and that includes using humor anywhere I can.And the other reason I do that is because we cant let them steal our joy. If we lose our joy, we will forget what were even fighting for. Whats the worst thing about Lindsey Graham?He doesnt stand for anything. I mean, hes such a sellout. Its really head spinning to walk into a childrens hospital and to work alongside nurses and everyone there with a shared goal of taking care of sick and injured children with worried parents at the bedside and then to observe politicians like Lindsey Graham, who wake up every day only to serve themselves, no matter who they hurt along the way. Its just maddening and infuriating, and its hard for me to wrap my brain around it. Lindsey Graham is willing to harm whoever stands in his way, as long as he achieves his goal of keeping Donald Trump happy and getting reelected. Its just disgusting to watch. Do you think Graham is a hypocrite when it comes to supporting Trump in his effort to strip LGBTQ+ identity from the federal government and society at large? For instance, literally painting over gay icon Harvey Milks name on a Navy ship?I mean, Lindsey Graham is definitely a hypocrite. I dont know that hes particularly Let me rephrase: hes definitely a hypocrite. Hes a hypocrite on this issue, as well. I mean, I dont know that hes ever, ever said anything necessarily super-positive or supportive of the LGBTQ community, but its just a perfect example of him having no internal moral compass that points him to do the right thing. And if Trump says were going to practice LGBTQ-erasure, then he says, Yes, sir, what can I do to help? And its just another example of his willingness to do whatever he needs to do to stay in Trumps good graces, no matter who it harms or no matter if it contradicts with who he is as a person.For all his hypocrisies, South Carolinians seem to like Graham, the way they enjoy a gay uncle at the family reunion, with his down-home demeanor and sassy asides. Hes also a shrewd political survivor. Whats something about Graham that you find admirable about him?He served as a JAG officer, and I appreciate his service to the country in that way. But what could have been an admirable career of public service has been erased by everything hes done over the past decade or so: to abandon any principles he used to align with. He is a shrewd political figure. Hes a much more politically powerful figure than my former opponent, Nancy Mace.But that doesnt mean hes unbeatable he has an approval rating here in South Carolina of 34%. And while we are living in a hyper-partisan time and so many South Carolina voter voters are apt to walk into the voting booth and just pull the lever for Republicans up and down the ballot, or for Democrats up and down the ballot, I think that what were going to see in response to the Trump administration in 2026 is going to transcend our typical partisan behavior in the voting booth. Lindsey Graham is one of the most vulnerable members of Congress in that way because he has tied himself so tightly to Donald Trump.Whats the single issue you think Graham is most vulnerable on? Healthcare. Healthcare is the number one issue for South Carolina families this election cycle, for good reason.Its the coordinated attack were seeing on our nations health care system with this budget bill and gutting our nations Medicaid program, which is the largest insurer for children in South Carolina and in the country. Its cuts to Medicare, slashing the NIH budget. Healthcare touches everyone.Whether youre on Medicaid or someone in your family is on Medicaid or not, gutting that program is going to drive up healthcare costs for every single person, because someones going to have to pay for that care. And those of us on private insurance are going to see our premiums go up really, really soon.Lindsey Graham not only voted yes on this budget bill, but he was its biggest champion in the U.S. Senate and helped to draft the Senate version of the bill. When was the first time you became aware that there are gay people in the world?Oh, thats a great question. I grew up very sheltered. I went to Catholic school, K through 12, so honestly, it probably wasnt until high school. Im sure there were gay people in my elementary and middle school, but it just wasnt something that was talked about.I have a lot of very strong relationships with gay people some of my best friends are gay now, and I find those relationships to be incredibly life-affirming and incredibly helpful as I navigate the world of being a Democrat in South Carolina in a very public-facing capacity. Mace got you removed from your job during your campaign against her when she accused you of providing gender-altering hormone therapy to kids as young as four years old. Your hospital also received death threats. What went through your mind as that attack unfolded? Were you blindsided or prepared for it, and are you ready for Graham to roll it out again in 2026?I think back to that time a lot. You know, we were pretty far into the campaign when she posted the first video calling me a child abuser for supporting gender-affirming care for trans youth. And my initial, honest response was, I laughed. Because I thought, is this all she could come up with? This is ridiculous, like, this is what shes going to attack me on? I was naive then, not understanding the political landscape enough and the Republican Party enough to realize that that would, in fact, be an effective way to attack me.I didnt expect any more from Nancy, but she really doubled down and tripled down on that in a way that I started to fear was going to put trans youth in my community and the children at the childrens hospital where I worked in danger, because we had already seen the bomb threat at Boston Childrens Hospital related to this issue. So, I was worried about somebody in my community taking it upon themselves to come find me at that Childrens Hospital because they were so convinced that I was doing this thing that they thought was so wrong for trans youth. So, I took a full leave of absence from my job at the end of the campaign, and then after the campaign, I was not offered my job back in something that felt very much like political retribution. Mace has a talent for grabbing headlines, as weve discussed. Is that a quality that South Carolinians admire in their representatives? And whats wrong with it if its bringing clout to their state?I think the words I used earlier were, shes a national embarrassment. She confuses her Twitter page for real life, and she doesnt realize that these headlines that shes grabbing are not helping South Carolinians, and certainly not making South Carolinians proud. South Carolinians are embarrassed by Nancy Mace. How did your kids handle your first race for office, and what was the family meeting like when you talked about challenging Graham? Did anyone vote the idea down?Ive always tried to teach my kids the value of public service. Before I launched my campaign, we sat down as a family and talked honestly about what it would mean: the long days, the tough moments, the commitment it takes. Challenging Lindsey Graham was a decision we made together.Also, when I asked my 8-year-old if she had any other thoughts about me doing this, she shrugged her shoulders and said, Good luck. So theres that. Whats the one thing youre looking forward to most if youre elected to represent the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate?I want to give people something to feel hopeful and optimistic about, and to prove to people that I say what I mean: Im going to Washington, D.C., to fight for them and to deliver results for them.I spent two decades taking care of patients, and it brings me great joy to think about the possibility of making the lives of so many South Carolina kids and families better.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.