Web Exclusive: Radiation oncologist, freshman Congressman Parker Griffith switches parties

Parker Griffith, a radiation oncologist and member of the United States House of Representatives representing Alabama’s 5th congressional district, announced on December 22, 2009, that he is switching from the Democrat to Republican party.

From Huntsville, Ala., Rep. Griffith ran as a Democrat in the 2008 general election, defeating Republican Wayne Parker by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. While Democrats have traditionally held the district’s House seat – most recently by nine-term Rep. Bud Cramer – Republican Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) won the district in the 2008 presidential election with 61 percent of the vote. The most recent member of Congress to switch parties was Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who announced his decision to leave the Republican party in April 2009.

Rep. Griffith graduated from Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans in 1970 and completed his residency in radiation oncology through a combined program at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. He is credited with establishing the Huntsville Cancer Treatment Center, the state’s first comprehensive cancer treatment facility. Rep. Griffith is now retired from radiation oncology, but he still holds a license to practice in both Alabama and Texas.

To read the Summer 2009 ASTROnews profile of Rep. Griffith, visit http://www.astro.org/Publications/ASTROnews/ASTROnews_Members/2009ASTROnews/documents/Summer09.pdf.