Meet the new members: Capitol Hill’s new progressive OB-GYN

The new member: Rep.-elect Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.)

How they got here: Morrison defeated her Republican opponent, Tad Jude, by 17 points in a suburban district that used to be solidly GOP but has favored Democrats in recent years. She’ll be replacing Rep. Dean Phillips, who is retiring after serving two terms in the House and mounting a primary challenge to Joe Biden last year.

Key issues: In the statehouse, under Gov. Tim Walz, Morrison helped write and pass bills shoring up the state’s protections for abortion patients and providers, laws that have made the state a destination for people from across the South and Midwest seeking to terminate a pregnancy.

She had hoped to do the same at the federal level. But now that Republicans have won a trifecta, she hopes to instead find common ground on policies like support for new parents and veterans, and plans to join fellow moderates in the New Democratic Coalition.

“My husband is a former Army Ranger and a combat veteran, and comes from a long tradition of military service, so veterans’ issues are near and dear to my heart and I'd be very interested in working to make sure that the people who have served us are getting the benefits that they need and deserve,” she said.

Background: Morrison, a sixth-generation Minnesotan raised by Republican parents, ran for the state Legislature in 2018 after practicing as an OB-GYN for about 20 years — motivated by Donald Trump’s win and his appointment of Supreme Court justices who later overturned Roe v. Wade.

“Those of us in the OB-GYN community knew what his presidency could mean,” she said. “We knew that was coming even before the leaked opinion.”

Campaign ads that caught our eye: Morrison put her medical credentials and pro-abortion-rights stance front and center, saying over footage of Republican male lawmakers that Congress “could really use an OB-GYN who will protect reproductive rights.” But she also stressed her moderate views and interest in compromise, pledging to “work with both parties” on issues from drug costs to public safety.

Fun fact: Until now, the ranks of OB-GYNs in Congress have been solely populated by conservative Republican men, including Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and retiring Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas). Morrison argues the field has undergone a sea change in recent decades, becoming more progressive and diverse, and she hopes that is reflected on the Hill.

“Particularly at this moment in history, when we're facing a Supreme Court hostile to women's health, we need to have voices in Congress who have actually taken care of patients,” she said. “I think that we can provide important voices in helping to educate our colleagues and the American public.”

We’re spotlighting new members during the transition. Want more? Meet Reps.-elect Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) and George Latimer (D-N.Y.).