Scientists win in US midterm elections

Abstract

At least 12 candidates with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or medicine were elected to the US House of Representatives on 6 November - including several who had never before run for political office. Voters rejected a bid for re-election by Representative John Culberson of Texas, a space enthusiast who leads the House spending panel that oversees NASA, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Culberson's stalwart support for a NASA mission to Jupiter's moon Europa became a campaign issue after his opponent accused him offavouring pet projects and neglecting local issues in his district near Houston.