ABOVE: Randy Wadkins, a biochemist at the University of Mississippi, is running as a Democrat for Congress.
TENOLA PLAXICO
In 2018, an unprecedented number of individuals across the country with science and technical backgrounds made a run for Congress. Many of them were energized by the perceived anti-science rhetoric of President Donald Trump and his administration concerning the environment and health, and by a desire to bring more evidence-based decision making into politics. Although a handful of candidates have advanced to next month’s midterm election, many didn’t make it through the primaries.
Of nearly 50 individuals with a science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) background—all of them Democrats—who sought a House seat this year and were tracked by Science, 30 were knocked out during their states’ primaries. 314 Action, a Washington DC–based nonprofit leading an organized effort to elect more scientists and engineers into public office, has also seen some attrition: ...
