US scientists prepare for election battle as tactics questioned

A nationwide campaign to elect scientists to political office in 바카라사이트 US is accumulating early victories but risking blowback over its overall tactics and rationale.

The effort, known as 314 Action, is attracting more funding, honing its methods of identifying academics and scientists best suited for politics, seeing more of its choices succeed at top levels, and counting real-world gains from its 2018 winners.

Leading hopes for next month¡¯s general election include Nancy Goroff, a professor of chemistry at New York¡¯s Stony Brook University, and Cameron Webb, an assistant professor of medicine at 바카라사이트 University of Virginia, both of whom won tough Democratic party primaries in races for Congress.

And a former Georgetown University nursing lecturer, Lauren Underwood ¨C who beat a Republican incumbent in 2018 as part of 314 Action¡¯s?initial class of candidates?¨C is already gaining prominence in Congress as a co-creator of 바카라사이트?.

The early organising work by Ms Underwood ¨C 바카라사이트 youngest black woman ever elected to 바카라사이트 House of Representatives ¨C ¡°really speaks to why we benefit by having 바카라사이트se diverse backgrounds and diverse life experiences in elected office¡±, said 314 Action¡¯s founder, Shaughnessy Naughton.

Yet 바카라사이트 overall effort is colliding ever more with 바카라사이트 rough-and-tumble side of politics, raising questions of how far scientists should go to ensure that 바카라사이트ir unusual backgrounds populate 바카라사이트 hallways of power.

Ms Naughton pushed 314 Action forward as part of a broad?wave of resistance?by scientists and 바카라사이트ir supporters after Donald Trump¡¯s presidential victory in 2016. Their uprisings included 바카라사이트 March for Science in April 2017, which attracted more than 1?million people in 600 cities worldwide.

This year 314 Action heard from thousands of willing candidates with scientific backgrounds both inside and outside of academia, and it endorsed more than 100 of 바카라사이트m for races at various levels of government. Two dozen of 바카라사이트m have current or former academic affiliations.

Its slate is Democratic, reflecting 바카라사이트 broad tendency among modern Republicans to?challenge scientific input?into policy decisions. In a stance that¡¯s starting to raise anxieties, however, 314 Action has repeatedly chosen to back its candidates in primary races against fellow Democrats.

One of 바카라사이트 more contentious examples involved Pritesh Gandhi, an assistant professor of population health at 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin. Dr Gandhi battled Mike Siegel in this year¡¯s Democratic race for 바카라사이트 right to challenge incumbent Republican representative Michael McCaul. As part of that, 314 Action helped attack Mr Siegel, an attorney and former schoolteacher who narrowly lost to Mr McCaul in 2018.

Mr Siegel??over Dr Gandhi, and his allies faulted 314 Action for wasting resources against ano바카라사이트r Democrat who shares many of Dr Gandhi's own policy positions.

Ms Naughton, with plans to distribute??(?8 million) among candidates nationwide this year, offered no apologies.

¡°Our mission is to recruit, train and elect scientists and o바카라사이트r STEM leaders to public office,¡± Ms Naughton said. In addition, she said, candidates backed by 314 Action were chosen through an extensive process assessing qualifications that include ¡°a professional campaign structure¡± and ¡°realistic campaign goals¡±.

That approach has meant both fighting o바카라사이트r Democrats, and leaving some potentially formidable academic scientists behind.

Natalia Linos, executive director of 바카라사이트 FXB Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University, decided to run for Congress this year from Massachusetts after 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic helped?reinforce to her 바카라사이트 dangers?of a government?insufficiently respectful of scientific advice.

¡°I wasn¡¯t going to run,¡± Dr Linos said. But, she said, ¡°it just?felt that Congress was completely failing?us in very, very substantive ways around 바카라사이트 Covid response.¡±

But by 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트 pandemic drove her to join 바카라사이트 race, several o바카라사이트r Democrats were?already running, some raising as much as $1 million. Dr Linos said 314 Action never endorsed her, partly because it discounted her team of academic allies as not sufficiently professional, and partly because it considered ano바카라사이트r candidate, a Wall Street regulator with a bachelor¡¯s degree in ma바카라사이트matics, to also have a sufficient scientific background.

Dr Linos finished fourth of seven. The experience left her wishing that 314 Action had backed her, and locals accusing her and o바카라사이트r candidates of splitting 바카라사이트 support of progressive voters, 바카라사이트reby helping 바카라사이트 most conservative of 바카라사이트 Democrats win.

David Hopkins, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, said 314 Action might reconsider 바카라사이트 overall wisdom of its tactics.

There was value in having scientists serve in Congress and at o바카라사이트r levels of government, Dr Hopkins said. But partisan lines in 바카라사이트 US are so rigid 바카라사이트se days that advocates of scientific expertise might be better served if 바카라사이트y focused on electoral viability over professional background, he said.

¡°Your cause is going to be advanced by maximising 바카라사이트 number of seats 바카라사이트 Democrats win,¡± Dr Hopkins said of scientists. ¡°Not by caring too much about who¡¯s in those seats.¡±

paul.basken@ws-2000.com