An emergency room doctor is entering the race to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Dr. Niki Thran, who lives in Warren and practices in Randolph, said she wasn’t formally announcing her Senate run until Sunday but had already created a campaign website and Facebook page.
Thran, a Democrat, said she is running to address major issues in the health care system, such as surprise billing, the opioid epidemic and the COVID-19 pandemic. She also supports universal health care.
“I’m going to be 60 years old, and I have never seen the entire national health care (system) failing like this,” Thran told VTDigger. “I’m hearing horror stories from the other ER docs on the ground. It’s brutal.”
Leahy announced last November that he is retiring after nearly five decades in that body. Since then, Vermont’s lone member of the U.S. House, Democrat Peter Welch, has entered the race for Senate and is considered a strong favorite.
On the Republican side, former U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan has said she is exploring a run for the office.
Thran, a physician at Gifford Health Care in Randolph, serves as president of the Vermont Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
She said national leaders also need to confront the issues of gun safety, voting rights, environmental protection and rising drug prices.
Than’s policy platform focuses on health care reform and economic growth, as well as job creation through environmental sustainability programs. She said she supports investing in renewable energy sources, protecting Vermont’s waters and public lands, and incentivizing sustainable farming and industry.
According a news release, Thran previously served as chair of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee and vice chair of the Windsor County Democratic Committee. She is currently a member of the Warren Democratic Committee.
A mother of three, Thran received her Bachelor of Science degree from Tufts University and her medical degree from Vanderbilt University. She has been a resident of Vermont since 2013.