(Philadelphia, PA) — With the 2026 midterms less than three months away, 314 Action is working with Democratic scientists and doctors across the spectrum running to flip competitive seats, hold blue districts, and take back the House. The Los Angeles Times detailed 314 Action’s winning strategy, which includes recruiting and supporting candidates to restore healthcare, lower costs, fight corruption and demonstrate competence in Washington.
“We are not prescriptive on policy matters,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, President of 314 Action. “But we do believe when you elect scientists and doctors with the right values, that you will get better results.”
Los Angeles Times: This year, the keyword for Democrats is ‘competence’
By Jill Lawrence
08/18/26
Key points:
- “Mister Rogers used to say “look for the helpers.” This year and in 2028, the Democratic message should be “look for reality-based fighters committed to facts, truth, accountability and renewal.”
- A good example is 314 Action, which endorses candidates up and down the ballot, from city council to Congress, in every shade of blue across the Democratic spectrum.
- Those in the 314 lineup do have a few things in common. As befits a group named for the number pi, they all have backgrounds in STEM — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. They also fit into 314 Action’s broad “4 Cs” priorities framework that includes lower costs, healthcare, fighting corruption and demonstrating competence.
- The 2026 dynamic is familiar to 314 Action, which started in 2018, the midterms of the first Trump administration. The group watched as “I believe in science” spread organically among its candidates as a stump-speech applause line. “It’s almost become a values statement,” Naughton told me. “They represent the best of us. They’re healers, problem solvers, people grounded in fact and evidence.”
- So how do you get beyond ideology? Naughton says polling shows that people want fact-based problem-solvers who are honest with them, even if they don’t support the same policies. “There’s something very comforting about that in a time when we have an administration that lies to us not just daily, but hourly,” she said.
- Democrats don’t need to say the same things or think the same way across the party. And they don’t need to trash each other, either. The overarching question isn’t: “Are you too far left or right of center?” It’s: “Are you grounded in real life, and armed with facts?” Because we are heading into an existential battle for the rebirth of a nation.”
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314 Action is the only national organization working to recruit, train and elect Democratic scientists across all levels of government—from the Senate down to local school boards. The organization is powered by a grassroots community of over six million people supporting scientists and health care professionals who will use science and facts to address the most urgent issues facing our generation.