The American College of Radiology's (ACR) political action committee, RADPAC, is spending more than $230,000 on support for incumbents in the Tennessee and Kansas Republican primary races -- rather than on radiologists who are challenging them for the posts, according to an article by the National Journal.
In Kansas, radiologist Dr. Milton Wolf is challenging Sen. Pat Roberts. Wolf is a tea party candidate who has made opposition to the Affordable Care Act a major part of his platform. However, Wolf is being investigated by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts in connection with posts he made to Facebook of patients killed by gun violence.
In Tennessee, radiologist Dr. George Flinn is among a raft of candidates facing off against Sen. Lamar Alexander.
Why is the support for incumbents rather than fellow radiologists? Both Alexander and Roberts are members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which influences issues that are important to radiology, according to the National Journal article.
RADPAC's goal is to support the campaigns of pro-radiology candidates at the federal level through voluntary contributions of ACR Association (ACRA) members, according to ACR.
