A closer look at the 2024 election and osteopathic medicine’s advocacy wins

Every election is important. Whether it’s a presidential election, state election or municipal election, each present an opportunity for constituents to make their voice heard. But every election isn’t necessarily historic. The 2024 election cycle was a unique one, as Americans saw not just one but multiple moments of history being made and new records set across parties and states.

It is also worth noting that the AOA and its affiliates, as well as individual DOs, worked together in 2024 to secure many advocacy wins that will improve the health care landscape for patients and physicians.

Below are a few historical moments from the 2024 elections, as well as a list of notable osteopathic advocacy wins from the 2024 cycle.

2024 election records

A record in fundraising

In September 2024, Kamala Harris’ campaign set a record for the most money raised in a Presidential campaign quarter. From the announcement of her decision to run in August to the end of September alone, her campaign raised $1 billion. During the last two entire Presidential election cycles, President-elect Donald Trump raised $333 million during his 2016 campaign, and President Joe Biden raised about $950 million during his 2020 campaign.

The oldest person elected to the White House

At 78 years old, Trump became the oldest person elected to the White House. This is a record he’s now broken twice, as when he was elected in 2016, he was also the oldest person elected to the White House at that time. Biden briefly took that record from him when he was elected in 2020; he was elected at age 77 and inaugurated at age 78, while Trump was elected at age 78 and will also be inaugurated at age 78. For those wondering if there are age limits to run for President of the United States–while the minimum age is 35, there is currently no maximum age limit. 

2024 election firsts

The first time two Black women were elected to serve in the Senate at the same time

This year, Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) were both elected to the Senate. Not only will they become their respective states’ first Black senators, but they’ll also be the first Black women serving in the senate together. In the entire history of the United States Senate, there have only been 12 Black senators in total, and three of them were women—Carol Mosely Braun (D-IL) in 1993, Kamala Harris (D-CA) in 2017 and Laphonza Butler (D-CA) just last year in 2023. 

The first time an openly transgender person will serve in Congress

This is also the first time that an openly transgender person has been elected to Congress. Sarah McBride (D-DE), a transgender woman elected to serve the first district of Delaware, ran on a platform that supported expanding health care access, investing in families, reforming the criminal justice system and addressing climate change.

The first time a convicted felon was elected to the White House

On May 20, 2024, a New York jury found Trump guilty of 34 felony charges, making him the first former President to be convicted of a felony. The charges were regarding a payment to a woman in exchange for her silence during the 2016 election. While he was also the first President or former President to ever be indicted, he was not actually the first to ever be arrested. The first President to ever be arrested was Ulysses S. Grant for speeding on a horse and buggy in 1872. 

The first time a millennial was elected to the White House

At the age of 40, Vice President elect J.D. Vance will be the first millennial elected to the White House. For those who are wondering, Vance will not be the youngest vice president (or president) to ever assume office. The record goes to Vice President John C. Breckenridge, who assumed office at the age of 36 in 1857 and served under President James Buchanan. The youngest President to ever assume office was Theodore Roosevelt at age 42 in 1901—he became president after the assassination of William McKinley.

The 2024 elections saw many more records and firsts happen, especially at the state level. Julie Fedorchak (R-ND) was the first woman elected by North Dakota to Congress, and now Mississippi is the only state to have never elected a woman to the House. Andy Kim (D-NJ) is the first Korean-American elected to the Senate, and Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is the first Latino person to be elected to the Senate by Ohio.

2024 wins for the osteopathic profession

Last year, advocates for the profession celebrated many wins for DOs, trainees and patients. Below are some highlighted achievements.

Federal advocacy highlights:

• Numerous positives updates to the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, including extending payment parity between telehealth and in-person services.
• Successfully included report language in the FY25 Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) funding legislation that encourages CMS to cover non-pharmacologic treatments for pain management, such as osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT)
• Supported inclusion of the osteopathic profession in various bills and regulation

State advocacy highlights:

• West Virginia: Prevented the elimination of the osteopathic medical board, safeguarding professional self-regulation
• Massachusetts: Halted the creation of an unproven licensure pathway for internationally trained physicians licensed in “any country”
• New Hampshire: Blocked attempts to allow PAs to practice independently and optometrists to perform risky eye surgeries
• Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin: Defeated inappropriate scope of practice expansion proposals
• Michigan: Helped delay legislation that raises caps on noneconomic damages to as high as $3 million

Related reading:

DOs vs. MDs: Do patient outcomes favor a side?

The day I learned about the secret DO handshake