Dr. Hiral Tipirneni’s primary goal is to ensure that every single American has access to quality, affordable health care. If elected to the U.S. Congress from Arizona’s 6th District, Dr Tipirneni says she will fight to keep Arizonans and their families protected.
“I’m running for Congress because we are in a state of crisis,” she says.
Dr. Tipirneni is an emergency room physician, a cancer research advocate, and is on the board of directors of the Maricopa Health Foundation, which supports the county’s public health care delivery system.
Dr. Tipirneni won the Democratic primary in Arizona’s 6th District on Aug. 4, defeating fellow Indian American and tech entrepreneur Anita Malik. She faces Republican Rep. David Schweiker, who was unchallenged in his primary, and is vying for a sixth term after prevailing in 2018 by over 10 points.
However, the Democrats are counting on Tipirneni to flip District 6 from red to blue, as Schweikert is considered to be vulnerable in the strongly GOP district because he is facing a probe from the House Ethics Committee over allegations of misusing official funds and receiving improper campaign contributions.
Along with her strong track record, Dr. Tipirneni is also a formidable fundraiser. Recently, she announced a record-breaking $2.5 million her campaign raised from July to September, bringing the total raised this cycle to over $4.9 million. This, when Dr. Tipirneni does not accept any corporate PAC contributions. Over 90 percent of her contributions are $100 or less.
Her 2020 bid comes after two previous unsuccessful attempts against Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), from the state’s 8th Congressional District, a Republican stronghold. That is why Dr. Tipirneni chose to run from a district she does not live in. It includes part of Maricopa county and some Phoenix suburbs.
Dr. Tipirneni came to the U.S. from India with her family when she was three years old, according to her campaign. They settled in Cleveland Ohio, where she and her brother were raised. Her father was a structural engineer. Her mother, a social worker, was the director of a downtown Cleveland senior center and initiated its Meals on Wheels program. It was then Dr. Tipirneni began to feel the impact that small acts of service can have on another person.
She was inspired to go into medicine after suffering a childhood illness. She earned her medical degree from Northeast Ohio Medical University. She met her husband, Dr. Kishore Tipirneni, during her first year of medical school. She served as the chief resident of the University of Michigan’s Emergency Medicine program, until the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
Dr. Kishore Tipirneni joined a well-established orthopedic surgery practice while Dr. Hiral Tipirneni began working in the emergency department at Banner Good Samaritan. She went on to serve in emergency departments at the Maricopa County Medical Center, Banner Thunderbird, and Abrazo Arrowhead hospitals, all while raising their three children in the Arrowhead community.
After losing her mother and nephew to cancer, Dr. Tipirneni focused on funding cutting-edge cancer research. She now leads teams of researchers, clinicians, and patient advocates in the fight to treat and cure breast cancer, prostate cancer, and childhood leukemia.
