Pro-scientist group responds to changes in GOP’s spending strategy three weeks ahead of midterm elections
On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that a Republican super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), is pulling investments from two competitive House districts: NJ-07 (Rep. Thomas Kean Jr.) and IA-01 (Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks). These are districts where 314 Action Fund, the nation’s only organization working to recruit, train and elect STEM-candidates, has invested heavily in their endorsed Democratic challengers.
“Republicans just admitted defeat in two of the most competitive seats in the country. Three weeks out from Election Day and Republicans at the CLF are waving the white flag because they know 314 Action-endorsed candidates Christina Bohannan and Rebecca Bennett are going to win,” said Erik Polyak, Executive Director of 314 Action Fund. “Democrats need to flip just three seats to take back the House, and this move confirms what we’ve known all along: the path to a Democratic majority runs through STEM Democratic candidates. We’ve invested over $2.2 million in these critical battleground races, and it’s working. We’re reshaping the map, and Republicans are running scared by shifting resources to defend Trump +18 districts.”
The New York Times also reported that CLF was redeploying funds to “shore up a number of incumbent Republicans.” Those incumbents include Rep. Bryan Steil in WI-01, where 314 Action-endorsed candidate Mitchell Berman (an ER nurse and fisherman) is betting on flipping the R+2 district, and Rep. Gabe Evans in CO-08, where Manny Rutinel (a State Representative and former economist for the US Army Corps of Engineers) is competing in a Toss Up race.
“This doesn’t mean our work is done. We’ve spent nearly $1.8 million in IA-01 and over $430,000 in NJ-07 but Trump and Elon Musk are still investing in these districts. 314 Action Fund is making Democrats competitive in races we must win to take back the House–so you can bet we’re going in big for our candidates and we won’t stop until polls close.”