How did Dr Saud Anwar win Connecticut Senate seat?

American-Pakistani State Senator Dr Saud Anwar has revealed his winning secret. He is the only person of Pakistani heritage elected consecutively for a fourth term to the Connecticut Senate.

In an exclusive interview, Dr Anwar explained his political journey. No doubt, he took a different path in 2011 when he was elected as a member of South Windsor’s Town Council. However, the doctor didn’t leave the practice he loved most.

The soft-spoken Dr Anwar said: "If you are in a medical profession, you naturally want to help people around you, and then the people of your city, your state, your country. And that’s why I entered politics."

He went on to serve twice as mayor of the same town, first from 2013-2015 and then from 2017-2019. Between these two tenures, Dr Anwar ran for the State Representative position. Unfortunately, he wasn’t successful, as some national organisations put a significant amount of funding into hurting his chances of getting elected. Hence, he lost the Connecticut House of Representatives District 14 by a small margin. His Republican rival Tom Delinicki got 6,852 votes (52.62%), while Dr Anwar could only secure 6,170 votes (47.38%).

"But the people elected me to the State Senate," Dr Anwar told Geo.tv about the special general election for District 3 held on 26 February 2019. This constituency represents the residents of East Hartford, East Windsor, South Windsor, and Ellington.

Basically, the Democratic primary was cancelled as no party member contested against Anwar for the ticket.

So, for Dr Anwar, it was an easy ride. He defeated Republican rival Sarah Muska by securing 4,737 votes (58.8%) to 3,317 votes (41.2%).

During this period, Dr Anwar served as Co-Chair of the Housing Committee, Insurance and Real Estate Committee, Public Health Committee, and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

The general elections for the same seat in 2020 sealed his fate even stronger as he won unopposed, bagging 35,263 votes (100%).

During this tenure, Dr Anwar continued as Vice Chair of the Housing Committee and was made Vice Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee and Public Health Committee. He also served as a member of the Judiciary Committee, Planning and Development Committee, Appropriations Committee, and Co-Chair of the Children’s Committee.

But his margin of victory for the seat was reduced in 2022, when he secured the seat with 18,968 votes (60.9%), while his Republican rival Matt Harper took 12,189 votes (39.1%).

During this tenure, in addition to serving as a member of the Appropriations Committee, Children’s Committee, and Environment Committee, Dr Anwar continued his role as Vice Chair of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee and became Co-Chair of the Public Health Committee.

In the 2024 general elections, he bounced back with more votes. This time, he won 27,359 votes (63.7%), while his Republican rival Matt Siracusa bagged 15,570 votes (36.3%).

Over the years, Dr Anwar has introduced or sponsored a number of bills. Almost all were signed into law. By going through them, one gets an idea of how elected representatives should work to uplift society rather than making laws that serve select quarters.

Laws to improve health and education

For early childhood care and education, Dr Anwar helped establish a Wage Supplement Fund. It provides at least $1,800 to early childhood teachers and their assistants in 2025.

He also advocated for a law that increases child protection and delivers legal aid to children in child protection proceedings.

Next, the ‘Path Programme’ was established, and an amendment was made to the ‘Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation Programme’.

It has three key features:

1. It has established the ‘Preparation for Academic Transition to Higher Education’ (PATH) programme that gives grants of $15,000-$20,000 to organisations that help high school students in their further studies.

2. It broadens the scope of the Connecticut Collegiate Awareness Programme. Hence, disadvantaged students can also benefit.

3. The funding for the said programme is now open to all institutions of higher education in Connecticut.

Another law was made for children facing mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.

"We have written a bill which is one of the top ones in the country, where the support system is such that if a child is going to have any kind of crisis, care would be provided at the doorstep by a clinician within half an hour," remarked Dr Anwar.

In the same spirit, for school resources, he advocated for a law that raises the quality of childcare services and expands educational opportunities for students.

Child and family nutrition was also made available through another piece of legislation.

Another landmark bill was to reduce the cost of insulin in the state. It capped the cost of insulin at $25 per month.

Congress followed the initiative, as the House of Representatives passed ‘The Affordable Insulin Now Act’, which capped insulin prices at either $35 per month or 25% of an insurance plan's worked-out price—whichever is lower.

The Insulin Act was so notable that Joe Biden mentioned it throughout the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris. And why not? According to the White House, the estimated number of adults aged 18 and older with diagnosed diabetes stands at 243,195 in Connecticut and 26,966,434 across the United States.

Another bill signed by the governor makes it mandatory for the Commissioner of Public Health to organise a working group to make recommendations for a universal patient intake form to be used by providers of behavioural health services for children.

For prisoners, he supported legislation that ensures screening for dyslexia. An Office of Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities within the Department of Education was also set up.

For persons with disabilities, his efforts resulted in a law that expanded access to medical diagnostic equipment and examination rooms.

Through his efforts, telehealth provisions passed during COVID-19 are extended until 30 June 2027. Biomarker testing for Medicaid enrollees with cancer and other diseases is also warranted.

Dr Anwar also played a role in enacting a law that promotes nursing home residents' quality of life. Even timely and effective wheelchair repair is guaranteed in the state.

Thanks to him, prescription drugs and related professions were further regulated for the benefit of the people.

Connecticut also took the lead in enacting a law that prohibits the sale of tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or vapour products to persons under the age of 21. Later, Congress followed Connecticut to pass the ‘Tobacco to 21 Act’.

It cited: "Tobacco use has caused more than 20,800,000 premature deaths in the United States since the Surgeon General’s first report on smoking in 1964."

The governor has also signed a bill that prohibits the use of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).

Laws to improve economy and safety

In order to improve the state economy, Dr Anwar sponsored a bill that authorised the administration to consider businesses that do not have their main operations in Connecticut to be eligible businesses under the Invest CT Fund Programme.

To broaden horizons, he legislated for establishing The Connecticut-Ireland Trade Commission.

State law also allows the Historic Homes Rehabilitation Tax Credit to be applied against additional taxes.

To uplift the morale of the workforce, he ensured that 50% of the housing units are provided to emergency medical personnel, volunteer firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other professionals working in that municipality.

Now, a law also requires notice of revaluation to some owners of residential buildings with defective concrete foundations.

To support social workers, he backed a bill that established the Social Work Licensure Compact Commission.

After the brutal murder of Joyce Grayson, a nurse who was killed while visiting a patient in a home for sex offenders, Dr Anwar got a landmark law passed for care workers.

In his remarks, Dr Anwar said: "The more we learn about what’s happening with home health workers, you realise that the trauma, the abuse, the violence is very real in the lives of home health workers."

To address hate speech and bullying of children, he played a part in setting up a task force.

A law was also passed to ensure the safety of children at home, requiring the Department of Children and Families to visit homes to mitigate parental behaviour.

In order to protect children from online risks, Dr Anwar encouraged lawmakers to pass another bill.

"Some of the largest social media companies were contracting with children less than 13 years of age. We raised it to 16," Dr Anwar told Geo.tv in an interview.

This law caught the attention of legislators across America. In no time, the US Senate passed a similar law.

Commenting on the urgency of the situation, President Biden said: "While my administration has taken important steps to address the harms of social media and online platforms, we need action by Congress to protect our kids online and hold Big Tech accountable for the national experiment they are running on our children for profit."

He equally secured the privacy of state citizens by legislating for prior written consent from consumers before telemarketers could call them.

For voting rights, he encouraged the Senate to pass a bill concerning absentee voting for certain types of patients in nursing homes.

Currently, Dr Anwar is working on increasing the number of healthcare workers, including nurses and physicians, as the post-pandemic shortfall is yet to be filled.

Who is Dr Saud Anwar?

Dr Anwar was born in Karachi. He studied at Adamjee Govt. Science College and graduated from Agha Khan Medical College. For Residency in Internal Medicine, he moved to the University of Illinois.

Soon, he joined Yale University for medical training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and also earned a master’s in Public Health from the same prestigious institution.

During COVID-19, the pulmonologist made headlines around the world by inventing one of the simplest and cheapest ways to make a ventilator for seven people.

At that time, thousands of people were dying in the United States alone due to the lack of these much-needed life support machines.

Little doubt, he could have made millions of dollars in weeks by establishing his own firm. Yet, he revealed his secrets on the internet to benefit the whole world.

Dr Anwar says that if you are in a medical profession or politics, "serving humanity should be your top priority".

"If you want work well done, select a busy man; the other kind has no time," this quote suits very well for Dr Anwar who serves a number of institutions as well.

At the moment, this Pulmonologist is Chair Department of Internal Medicine of Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals.

Dr Anwar is also a Board Member of South Windsor Community Foundation, President of South Windsor Haiti School Inc, Founding Member of South Windsor Hunger Action Team, Zero Waste South Windsor, South Windsor Alliance for Progress, Former Chair of South Windsor Human Relations Commission and Asian Pacific American Affairs.

Dr Anwar was a volunteer after the tragic terrorist incident of September 11, 2001, and was recognised by the American Red Cross for that.

He is a consultant with the FBI’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Committee. Need not mention that Dr Anwar has also undertaken medical missions in Haiti and Pakistan.

His work is widely recognised.

In these years, Dr Anwar has received the FBI Director Robert Mueller Award for Community Leadership and Alliance Building. The Anti-Defamation League’s Torch of Liberty Award is another feather to his cap.

Others include the National Council of Community and Justice’s Human Relations Award, the Manchester Community College Leadership Award, and the Department of Justice Attorney’s Office Community Service Award.

On the state level, he has received the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut’s Trailblazer Award, the Easter Connecticut Health Network Member Physicians’ Community Service Recognition Award and the Connecticut Bar Association’s Citizen for the Law Award.

Dr Anwar lives in South Windsor where his wife Dr Yusra Anis-Anwar maintains a private practice in Internal Medicine. His sons Taha, and Taseen, and mother Zia Anwar also live in South Windsor.

Now, the American Pakistani doctor-cum-politician is gearing up to work even harder. His aim is to bring further positive change to the lives of his constituents.