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More than 10 candidates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics have won their runs for office across the United States in yesterday’s midterm elections. Several of them have had long political careers, while others were running for the first time in elections that have seen a wave of political newcomers.
With almost all of the votes now counted for the 2018 US midterms, it’s clear that the Democratic Party has won control the House of Representatives, while the Republican Party has strengthened its hold on the Senate.
Representatives succeeding in their runs for re-election include physicians Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Andy Harris (R-MD), as well as physicist Bill Foster (D-IL).
But there were several surprise victories for STEM-trained Democratic candidates who have never run for Congress before. Elaine Luria and Chrissy Houlahan, both of whom have backgrounds in engineering, overturned Republican-held seats...
Meanwhile, Lauren Underwood, a nurse and former advisor to the Department of Health and Human Services, becomes the first woman to represent Illinois’s 14th district, after defeating four-term Republican Representative Randy Hultgren. Another health professional, pediatrician Kim Schrier, also flipped a Republican seat in Washington’s 8th district after running on a largely healthcare-focused platform.
Other scientists making first-time appearances as representatives include Sean Casten, a renewable energy entrepreneur who won the seat of six-term Republican Peter Roskam in Illinois, and Joe Cunningham, a 36-year-old lawyer originally trained in ocean engineering, who defeated South Carolina Republican Katie Arrington.
See “Candidates with STEM Backgrounds Running in the Midterm Elections”
Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president for political affairs at the environmental advocacy group the Environmental Defense Fund tells Nature that the Democrats’ House win is “no small feat. . . . It is going to change the dialogue in Washington, and will certainly change the dynamic around science and the environment.”
In particular, Gore adds, the House advantage will help in “reestablishing scientific integrity and highlighting the failure of the Trump administration to use scientifically based information for policymaking.”
Over in the Senate, Democrat Jacky Rosen, a computer programmer and political newcomer, unseated Republican Dean Heller in Nevada, following a successful campaign that attacked Heller’s involvement in Republican efforts to repeal Medicare last year.
“I’m humbled, honored, and deeply grateful to serve as Nevada’s next Senator!” she writes this morning on Twitter. “I got into politics to make a difference, and I will always carry your stories with me.”
See “Meet the Scientists Still in the Running for Congressional Seats”
We’ve compiled the results for races involving scientists running for office this year. (Candidates who won their races are highlighted in green.)
Candidates running for federal offices:
Name | STEM background | Race | Opponent | Result |
| Hiral Tipirneni | Physician, cancer researcher | Arizona, 8th congressional district | Debbie Lesko (R) | Lesko wins |
| TJ Cox | Engineer, businessman | California, 21st congressional district | David Valadao (R) | Valadao wins |
| Sean Casten | Renewable energy entrepeneur | Illinois, 6th congressional district | Peter Roskam (R) | Casten wins |
| Bill Foster | Physicist | Illinois, 11th congressional district | Nick Stella (R) | Foster wins |
| Nick Stella | Cardiologist | Illinois, 11th congressional district | Bill Foster (D) | Foster wins |
| Lauren Underwood | Nursing | Illinois, 14th congressional district | Randy Hultgren (R) | Underwood wins |
| Chris Peters | Physician | Iowa, 2nd congressional district | Dave Loebsack (D), Mark Strauss (L), Daniel Clark (I) | Loesback wins |
| Andy Harris | Physician | Maryland, 1st congressional district | Jesse Colvin (D), Jenica Martin (L) | Harris wins |
| Rob Davidson | ER physician | Michigan, 2nd congressional district | Bill Huizenga (R), Ronald Graeser (US Taxpayers) | Huizenga wins |
| Ronald Graeser | Physician | Michigan, 2nd congressional district | Rob Davidson (D), Bill Huizenga (R) | Huizenga wins |
| Matt Longjohn | Physician | Michigan, 6th congressional district | Fred Upton (R), Stephen J. Young (US Taxpayers) | Upton wins |
| Randy Wadkins | Biochemist | Mississippi, 1st congressional district | Trent Kelly (R), Tracella Lou O'Hara Hill (Reform) | Kelly wins |
| Jacky Rosen | Computer programmer, software developer | Nevada, Senate | Dean Heller (R), Kamau Bakari (Independent American Party), Tim Hagan (L), Barry Michaels (I) | Rosen wins |
| Jeff Van Drew | Dentist | New Jersey, 2nd congressional district | Seth Grossman (R), John Ordille (L), William Benfer (Together We Can), Steven Fenichel (Time for Truth), Anthony Parisi Sanchez (Cannot Be Bought) | Van Drew wins |
| Chrissy Houlahan | Engineer | Pennsylvania, 6th congressional district | Greg McCauley (R) | Houlahan wins |
| Joe Cunningham | Ocean engineer | South Carolina, 1st congressional district | Katie Arrington (R) | Cunningham wins |
| Phil Bredesen | Health care entrepeneur | Tennessee, Senate | Marsha Blackburn (R), Trudy Austin (I), John Carico (I), Dean Hill (I), Kevin Lee McCants (I) | Blackburn wins |
| Joseph Kopser | Aerospace engineering | Texas, 21st congressional district | Chip Roy (R), Lee Santos (L) | Roy wins |
| Mark Boler | Software developer | Texas, 26th congressional district | Michael Burgess (R), Linsey Fagan (D) | Burgess wins |
| Michael Burgess | Physician | Texas, 26th congressional district | Linsey Fagan (D), Mark Boler (L) | Burgess wins |
| Elaine Luria | Nuclear engineering | Virginia, 2nd congressional district | Scott Taylor (R) | Luria wins |
| Kim Schrier | Pediatrician | Washington, 8th congressional district | Dino Rossi (R) | Schrier wins |
| John Barrasso | Physician | Wyoming, Senate | Gary Trauner (D), Joseph Porambo (L) | Barrasso wins |
Candidates running for state offices:
Name | STEM background | Race | Opponent | Result |
| Jenn Gray | Pharmaceutical chemistry | Alabama House of Representatives, 45th district | Dickie Drake (R) | Drake wins |
| Liz Snyder | Professor of public health | Alaska House of Representatives, 27th district | Lance Pruitt (R) | Pruitt wins |
| Randy Friese | Physician | Arizona House of Representatives, 9th district | Pamela Powers Hannley (D), Ana Henderson (R) | Friese wins |
| Chris Hansen | Renewable energy entrepreneur | Colorado House of Representatives, 6th district | Hansen wins | |
| Shevrin Jones | Chemistry teacher | Florida House of Representatives, 101st district | Jones wins | |
| Linda Jack | Veterinarian | Florida House of Representatives, 101st district | Amber Mariano (R) | Mariano wins |
| Jasmine Clark | Microbiology lecturer | Georgia House of Representatives, 108th district | Clay Cox (R) | Clark wins |
| Frank Szczepanski | Biotech entrepeneur | Indiana House of Representatives, 4th district | Edmond Soliday (R) | |
| Don Westerhausen | Cardiologist | Indiana House of Representatives, 5th district | Dale DeVon (R) | DeVon wins |
| Edie Hardcastle | Plant biology professor | Indiana State Senate, 49th district | Jim Tomes (R) | Tomes wins |
| Katie McBrine | Pediatrician | Massachusetts State Senate, Plymouth and Norfolk district | Patrick O’Connor (R), Stephen Gill (I) | O’Connor wins |
| Julia Pulver | Nurse | Michigan State Senate, 15th district | Jim Runestad (R) | Runestad wins |
| Kelly Morrison | Physician | Minnesota House of Representatives, district 33B | Cindy Pugh (R) | Morrison wins |
| Anne Claflin | Climate scientist | Minnesota House of Representatives, district 54A | Keith Franke (R) | Claflin wins |
| Alice Mann | Physician | Minnesota House of Representatives, district 56B | Roz Peterson (R) | Mann wins |
| Maren Bell Jones | Veterinarian | Missouri House of Representatives, 44th district | Cheri Toalson Reisch (R) | Toalson Reisch wins |
| Sarah Peters | Environmental engineer | Nevada State Assembly, 24th district | Peters wins | |
| Jacqueline Chretien | Bioscientist | New Hampshire House of Representatives, Hillsborough 42 | Matt Wilhelm (D), Phillip Harris (R), Joseph Lachance (R) | Chretien wins |
| Beth Liston | Pediatric surgeon | Ohio House of Representatives, 21st district | Stu Harris (R) | Liston wins |
| Jennifer Rager-Kay | Physician | Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 85th district | Fred Keller (R) | Keller wins |
| Gabbby Salinas | Therapeutics researcher | Tennessee State Senate, 31st district | Brian Kelsey (R) | Kelsey wins |
| Michelle Beckley | Studied biomedical sciences | Texas House of Representatives, 65th district | Ron Simmons (R) | Beckley wins |
| Lucy Rogers | Biology major, conservation research | Vermont House of Representatives, Lamoille-3 district | Zachary Mayo (R) | Rogers wins |
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