RFK Jr. Has Met His Match in This California Congressional Hopeful
Richard Pan, a pediatrician and former California state senator, is running for Congress after authoring some of the nation's strongest vaccine laws, which sparked intense backlash from anti-vaccine activists. He has faced protests, death threats, and physical attacks, including incidents involving blood and assault, largely due to his advocacy for mandatory childhood vaccinations. Now reentering politics, Pan aims to counter the growing anti-vaccine movement and figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., drawing on his experience and calm demeanor in the face of extremism.
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freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: "motherjones_right_rail_1", slotId: "ROS_ATF_300x600" }); Mother Jones illustration; Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/ZUMA Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. Richard Pan is no stranger to blood. As a pediatrician, he was trained for its inevitability. But unlike your average medical professional—and despite his approachable and buoyant demeanor—he’s had menstrual blood launched at him in protest. He’s been assaulted on the street by a person livestreaming the attack on Facebook. He’s been the subject of racist memes comparing him to Asian despots. He’s encountered demonstrators clad in t-shirts depicting his face smeared with blood.
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