Dentist and Married to Medicine cast member Heavenly Kimes, known as Dr. Heavenly on the series, has joined the reality TV-to-politics pipeline. The 55-year-old is aiming to turn her platform into a political run against ten-term incumbent David Scott to represent Georgia’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.
As the campaign ramps up for the Democratic primary on May 19, 2026, Kimes sat down with ESSENCE to discuss her candidacy, why she felt compelled to run and the change she hopes to bring to Georgia.
A run for Congress wasn’t Kimes’ original plan. “Initially, I was running for state representative. I’ve been giving back to my community for years and felt that was the next transition,” she says. “But once I actually announced, everybody said, ‘You can do something bigger for your community.’”
That idea of bigger took on a new sense of urgency when the One, Big Beautiful Bill was introduced. Everything shifted for Kimes. “My congressman said nothing. He gave us no town halls…we heard nothing from him,” she recalls. “Who would be better to actually represent our district than somebody that’s real relatable, somebody who’s lived here over 25 years, who served patients over 25 years, that has the reach?”
“I’ll be more than a vote. I’ll be a voice for the people,” emphasizes Kimes, who sees her reality television stardom as a political asset, rather than a liability. “Without it, I would not have the platform of hundreds of thousands of people.” On the campaign trail, meeting constituents has buoyed her motivation. She fondly recalled talking with Miss B. who explained what she was looking for from her congressmember. “Somebody real, somebody truthful, somebody relatable that’s not going to leave them once they get in office,” she recalls.
The doctor is very aware of what it means to be running for office right now, as a Black woman in Georgia, with the extreme backlash against DEI. Pointing out the barriers Shirley Chisholm faced and what she had to do to become the first Black woman elected to Congress and even to run for president of the United States, Kimes acknowledges how public service can come at a high personal cost. “It is a real sacrifice to do this job, but I want to do it,” she says. “I want to actually work across the aisle, get things done, negotiate to bring back resources to my district.”
“I feel like it’s an obligation to give back,” says the public figure. “I went to Meharry Medical College, and we learned to serve the underserved, and I think that stuck with me throughout my life. We’re here to serve.”
The combination of a service-driven mindset along with her background in healthcare and as a small business owner is why Kimes believes she is uniquely positioned to serve District 13. As a multihyphenate, she brings experience across sectors and industries. “I have my real estate license, Series 65 [license]. I owned a mortgage company. I understand business from all ways around,” Kimes elaborates. “And I can boast that I have lived in this district 25 years. But on top of that, I also can boast that I’ve had an office in every county in this district.”
When asked what the first issue is she wants to tackle if elected, Kimes did not hesitate. “When I win, the first thing I’m going to do is look at that Big, Beautiful Bill, because I understand how people are going to be kicked off their Medicaid because they are required to have 80 hours a month or be full-time students or have community service,” she states, adding “I know plenty of people, including my colleagues that have children that are over 18, that have autism or mental health challenges, that cannot do either of these things.”
She asserts that flexibility and humanity are a key part of the solution. “I think that any kind of insurance should be individualized rather than putting a blanket over it. I’m an advocate for a single payer system,” she says. “But what I want to do first is get an amendment so that people can stay on their insurance and extend it, because right now, every six months, you have to register, and nobody knows it. So, extend it at least to one year until we can come up with some solutions so people can keep their insurance.”
“That’s my main thing, keeping their insurance,” Kimes proclaims, “because without insurance, people will be unalived, for lack of a better word.”
She ends the conversation by driving home the point that despite what people think of her based on what they’ve seen on TV or online, she means business when it comes to having an impact in politics.
“This is real. I am very serious about making a change,” she says. “Get up, get out, and vote, like never before.”
She is working to build a movement and urges people to follow along in person and on social media, to learn about her campaign and events, and to take part in the primaries, which are more important than people realize.
“Only 11 percent of my community votes in the primary. That’s where elections are really decided,” Kimes says. “My district is 80 percent Democratic. If I win the primary, I will win in November.”