Wendell Smith

Wendell Smith served in the U.S. Air Force from 1991 to 2002. Smith graduated from Layton High School. Smith earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1985, a graduate degree from Louisiana State University in 1990, and an M.D. from the University of Utah in 1994. Smith's career experience includes working as a healthcare professional.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My name is Dr. Wendell Smith. I’m a general surgeon who served in the US Air Force before moving to Virginia, MN where I’ve practiced medicine here on the Iron Range for the past two decades.

As a physician I took upon myself the Hippocratic Oath, which means I put patients above self. As an officer in the US Air Force I was sworn to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. These guiding principles, along with the people I've met and cared for, have made the health, well-being and security of the people in the 8th District a personal matter for me.

That is why I am running US Congress. Too many of our politicians are influenced by money and not by the needs of their constituents. This has to change. We have to get rid of politicians that only run to enrich themselves.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Healthcare is a human right. As a surgeon, my first question is never "how are you going to be paying?" As the wealthiest country in the world, there is no excuse for the crippling debt people go into trying to secure proper care. I support Medicare for All, and will vote for bills that increases access to healthcare.

Healthcare in rural Minnesota and across the country is in danger. Republicans, including our representative, Pete Stauber, continually cut Medicare and Medicaid funding. The result of this is that 19 rural hospitals in MN are at risk of closure, with 6 of these within the next 3-5 years.

The result of these closures will have a cascading effect on the economy, forcing people and businesses to leave.Good education is essential for any society to thrive. Minnesotans have always valued education, and I plan on fighting for those values at the national level. We must restore cuts made to the Department of Education. We must address the growing literacy crisis.

On top of that, we need to address the increasing costs of higher education. It is unsustainable to demand that jobs require a post high school education while also making those degrees less accessible and more costly. No one should have to take on lifelong debts in order to obtain the knowledge and training they need to get a job to provide for a family.America is built on the backs of labor, and Minnesota has a rich part of that history. I will always support the rights of workers. Unions have always been our primary tool in the fight for workers' rights, safety and fair wages. I will fight to protect your right to unionize.

The current minimum wage is far too low and has not kept up with inflation and economic growth. We are seeing, for the first time in world history, a generation of people who have less than what their parents had. As the wealthiest country in the world, this is unacceptable and has to be solved. No one should have to work multiple jobs to provide for their family.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I'm most interested in policies that directly improve the lives of Minnesotans, including access to healthcare and education, fair wages, protecting the Boundary Waters, building economic growth and job opportunities, and ending corruption and corporate money in politics.