Ronny Jackson, President Donald Trump’s former White House doctor, was projected to win a seat in the House of Representatives from Texas, according to US media.
He was projected by NBC News and CNN to defeat Democratic candidate Gus Trujillo in the state’s 13th Congressional District, a safe seat vacated by a fellow Republican.
Jackson, who retired from the Navy as a rear admiral last year, was first appointed to the White Medical Unit under former president George W. Bush then became the president’s doctor in 2013, under Barack Obama.
But he gained national fame after effusively praising Trump’s health and “great genes” in 2018, declaring: “I told the president that if he had a healthier diet over the last 20 years, he might live to be 200 years old.”
Soon after, Trump nominated him to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, but Jackson withdrew his name from consideration following allegations he improperly handed out drugs and was drunk at work.
During his campaign for Congress, Jackson positioned himself as a close Trump supporter, backing the narrative that Obama weaponized the government to spy on Trump.
He also broke ranks with public health officials on the coronavirus, saying that mask wearing should be a “personal choice,” and questioned Joe Biden’s cognitive capacity to run for president.
