February 8, 2022
PHILADELPHIA — Today, 314 Action Fund announced its endorsement of Cora Neumann in the race to represent Montana’s first congressional district. A public health leader committed to expanding access to high-quality health care and protecting public lands, Neumann is running to ensure that Montanans can rely on pro-science representation in Congress. Neumann received her master’s degree in public health in 2005 and has dedicated her career to addressing policy issues facing Montanans.
The winner of November’s general election will be the first congressperson for MT-01 since the state condensed its representation into one at-large district twenty years ago. With a primary election victory, Neumann will likely face Ryan Zinke, who from 2017 to 2019 served as the most anti-science secretary in the history of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Under Zinke’s leadership, the Interior Department censored references in government research to human contributions to climate change and rolled back protections for public lands and endangered species — putting the profits of oil and gas companies above the interests of the environment and Montanans. In 2018, Zinke incorrectly claimed the validity of human contributions to climate change is “still being disputed.”
“As a public health expert and non-profit leader, Cora Neumann has led with science every step of the way in her work to expand access to affordable health care and protect public lands,” said Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action. “From helping support community members through the pandemic by founding We Are Montana to organizing on the front lines of conservation efforts, Cora has proven that she will fight for evidence-based policies that improve the lives of all Montanans.”
“I am truly honored to be endorsed by 314 Action,” said Cora Neumann, candidate for Montana’s first congressional district. “I’m no politician, but I have a track record of delivering results for underserved and rural communities, improving access to health care, and protecting our public lands. That’s what we need more of in Washington.”
314 Action recently launched a $10 million, cycle-long advocacy campaign focused on engaging voters on critical science issues — including climate change, health care, and the pandemic response — and holding anti-science public figures accountable. Additionally, 314 Action has engaged its base of six million grassroots members to push for pro-science legislation at the federal and state levels. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will work to elect scientists across all levels of government, with initial targets of seven U.S. Senate races, forty U.S. House races, and twenty-one statewide races.
ABOUT CORA NEUMANN:
Cora Neumann is a rural health and economic development leader with a track record of delivering results for underserved and rural communities, improving access to health care, and protecting our public lands. She’s running for Congress to make sure Montanans have access to good jobs and wages; that our small businesses can succeed; and that families who’ve lived here for years or generations can afford to stay.
To get her education, Cora worked as a waitress, nanny, and construction worker – and still has student debt to this day. Over the past 25 years, Cora has founded and led multiple non-profit organizations that help create jobs, improve child nutrition and mental health services, and boost maternal health. She has done this work in Montana and across the country and world – working with local leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, to solve problems that families and workers are facing.
When COVID hit, Cora founded We Are Montana to get personal protective equipment, life-saving information, financial aid, and vaccines out to Montanans so our economy could re-open as quickly and safely as possible. She worked with small business owners to help them keep the lights on, raised money to support rural county commissioners and health workers, and centered her work on delivering tangible results to rural counties.
Since 2015, Neumann has been working across Montana and the Rocky Mountain West to fight for the protection of public lands. As part of that effort, she organized Indigenous communities, farmers and ranchers, and the conservation community to fight back against Washington’s attempt to cut protections for public lands – recently celebrating the restoration of Bears Ears National Monument.
Cora Neumann was raised in Bozeman by her mom, a homemaker, and her step-father, a union carpenter. She and her husband are raising their two teenage children there, surrounded by four generations of family.
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314 Action Fund is powered by a grassroots community of over six 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 and 2020, we played a pivotal role in flipping the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, electing eleven Democratic scientists to federal office, as well as in helping over 100 statewide, state legislative, and municipal candidates win their races. In 2022, 314 Action Fund will continue working to elect science leaders and defeat climate deniers in Congress and legislatures across the country.