Democratic Control of U.S. Senate Essential to President-Elect Biden’s Implementation of Policy Solutions for Climate Crisis

November 18, 2020

PHILADELPHIA — Today, after drafting scientists Capt. Mark Kelly and Gov. John Hickenlooper to successfully run for U.S. Senate and raising $3.2 million in grassroots donations for their campaigns, 314 Action Fund launched support for Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in two races of great consequence for science-first policymaking on climate change.

Prior to this unprecedented announcement, 314 Action Fund has exclusively supported scientists running for public office. However, these races in Georgia have unique and profound implications for control of the U.S. Senate and the ability of the Biden administration to combat climate change head-on before the window for meaningful action closes for good. For this reason, 314 Action Fund believes it has a responsibility to support Ossoff and Warnock in the coming weeks.

Assistance to the Ossoff and Warnock campaigns will be committed through a combination of grassroots donation fundraising, direct donations, voter turnout efforts, and a potential independent expenditure program.

“Our organization’s mission is to support scientists running for public office. However, with control of the U.S. Senate on the line and the climate crisis looming, we cannot sit idly on the sidelines and watch on as these races in Georgia play out,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, president and founder of 314 Action. “Both U.S. Senate seats won by Democrats so far this cycle were flipped by science candidates our organization recruited, and this January, science is again on the ballot. The only way to empower President-elect Biden’s science-first policy agenda on climate change is to secure a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, which is why our organization is breaking from tradition to support the campaigns of Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock and drive turnout in Georgia.”

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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over five million people working to elect scientists, doctors, and STEM professionals who will use science and facts to address our most pressing issues like climate change and health care. In 2018, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and elected nine Democratic scientists to the House and Senate, as well as over 100 to key legislative districts. In 2020, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.